A mission to the Indians, from the Indian committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, to Fort Wayne, in 18O4

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A

MISSION TO THE INDIANS,

FROM THE

INDIAN COMMITTEE

OP

BALTIMORE YEARLY MEETING,

TO

FORT WAYNE, IN 1804.

WRITTEN AT THE TIME, BY

GERARD T. HOPKINS.

H '

WITH AN APPENDIX, COMPILED IN 1862.
BY MARTHA E. TYSOIT.

PHILADELPHIA:

T. ELLW 0 0 D ZELL,

Nos.17 and 19 South Sixth Street.
1862.

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JOURNAL

r Many of my friends having been solicitous
^for the privilege of a perusal of the minutes I

preserved in the course of my late visit to the

Western Indians, I have been induced to devote
5^ a small portion of leisure time to the purpose of
■A attempting such an arrangement of them, as
^ V70uld convey, intelligibly, both the route we

took, and the various circumstances attending

upon our journey.
^ The judicious reader will doubtless make
J^roper allowances for the difficulty there is in
^composing an entertaining diary over that of a
Y^history, where circumstances are not necessarily

confined to day and time.
^ As a suitable introduction to my Journal, I
^^ deem it proper to insert the following letter. It
L^ will serve to show the intercourse which had
!X.previously taken place between the Indian

Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting and^

some of the Indian chiefs of the Western tribes.'

4 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

" The Lime Turtle's Toim, Sept. 18th, 1803.
-From the Little Turtle, The Five Medals, and
others, to Evan Thomas, George Ellicott, and
others.

" Brothel's and Friends of our hearts, — We
iKive received your speech from the hand of our
friend, Wui. Wells, with the implements of
husbandry, that you were so kind to send to his
care, — all in good order.

'^ Brothers, it is our wish that the Great Spirit
will enable you to render to your Red Brethren
that service which you appear to be so desirous
of doing them, and which their women and
children are so much in need of.

'• Brothers, we will try to use the articles you
have sent us, and if we should want more, we
will let you know it.

'' Brothers, we are sorry to say that the minds
of our people are not so much inclined towards
the cultivation of the earth as we could wish
them.

'' Brothers, our Father, the President of the
United States, has prevented our traders from
selling liquor to our people, which is the best
thing he could do for his Red Children.

"Brothers, our people appear dissatisfied, be-
cause our traders do not, as usual, bring them
liquor, and, we believe, will request our Father
to let the traders bring them liquor, and if he
does, your Red Brethren are all lost forever.

" Brothers, you will see, from what we have

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 5

said, that our prospects are bad at present,
though we hope the Great Spirit will change the
minds of our people, and tell them it will be
better for them to cultivate the earth than to
drink whiskey.

'< Brothers, we hope the Great Spirit will per-
mit some of you to come and see us, — when you
will be able to know whether you can do any-
thing for us or not,

" Brothers, we delivered you the sentiments of
our hearts, when we spoke to you at Baltimore,*
and shall say nothing more to you at present.
We now take you by the hand, and thank you
for the articles you were so kind to send us.
^' Signed,

'' The Little Turtle, Miami CMef,

"The Five Medals, Potowatamy Chief J'

This letter having claimed the solid consider-
ation of the Committee on Indian AiFairs, at a
meeting held in the city of Baltimore, the 6th
of 2d month, 1804, the following conclusion
and minute was, at that time, the result of their
deliberations :

" The subject of a visit to the Indians, agreea-
bly to the desire they express in the aforegoing
letter, being solidly considered, the Committee
are united in judgment, that a visit to them at
this time would be the most likely means of ob-

*See Appendix.
1* •

b JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

taining a knowledge of the disposition they are
in, and enable Friends to ascertain what would
be the best course to pursue to be useful to them.
The following Friends are therefore nominated
to that service, and requested to proceed in the
visit as soon as convenient, to wit: George
Ellieott, Gerard T. Hopkins, Joel Wright, and
Elisha Tyson.

'' They are also authorized to take one or more
suitable persons with them to reside amongst the
Indians, to instruct them in agriculture and
other useful knowledge, if there should appear
to be a prospect of such an establishment being
beneficial to them."

My name having been entered upon the minute,
and thus placed upon this very interestingappoiot-
ment, was to me a subject of much thoughtful-
ness and exercise; and believing finally that the
peace of my own mind was concerned in a pas-
sive submission to the judgment of my friends,
I accordingly made provision for the journey,
and on the 23d of the 2d month, 1804, left my
home J first witnessing those sensations due to
human nature, in an afi'ectionate farewell to my
family connexions and friends ; rode to Ellicott's
Mills, and joined my friend, George Ellieott,
from whence we proceeded on our journey ; taking
with us Philip Denis, a member of our So-
ciety, who has concluded to accompany us, for
the purpose of residing with the Indians, in order
to instruct them in agriculture; reached Brooke-

THE WESTERN INDIANS. i

ville, and lodged at Caleb Bentlej's — making
27 miles. The weather cold, with some snow.
Nothing remarkable occurred, except that, in
crossing a miry glade, my horse fell and threw
me ; neither of us received a hurt.

2d mo. 24th. Bade farewell to my relatives
and connexions at Brookeville, and rode to Now-
land's Ferry — 28 miles — a very muddy and cold
day. The high wind preventing us from cross-
ing the Potomac river, we rode to the house of
George Lepley, a neighboring farmer, where we
found good accommodations, and were kindly
entertained-

25th. Crossed the Potomac early this morn-
ing, passed over the Catoctin mountain, taking
the village of Waterford in our way; thence
through the gap of the Short Hill, over the Blue
Ridge to Warmsley's Ferry over the Shenandoah
river ; thence across the Shenandoah to the
house of our friend, John McPherson, a dis-
tance of 29 miles. This day's journey has been
highly entertaining; mountain rising above
mountain, and farm above farm, till we reached
the summit of the Blue Bidge, from whence
a most extensive and beautiful prospect of the
country, both on the east and west side of the
mountain, was full in view. From the top of
this commanding eminence, we were the specta-
tors of a beautiful natural scene. A cloud, small
in its appearance, passing nearly upon a level
with our elevation, cast its shadow upon the

5 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

Goose Creek settlement below, for several miles
in extent. The precise shape of the cloud, with
all its indentations, was visible in the shadow ;
the indentations bearing the same enlarged pro-
portions, with the shadow, to the cloud.

An extraordinary deceptibility in human
vision is evident, in a view of the Shenandoah
river, from the summit of the Blue Ridge. The
river, in the estimation of some of our company,
did not appear to be further from us than the
distance of half a mile, and it proved to be not
nearer than three or four miles.

26th. Passed across the Shenandoah valley,
a body of excellent limestone land. This valley
is several hundred miles in length, and general-
ly from 20 to 25 miles in width, lying between
the Blue Ridge and the North Mountains.
Many parts of it retain to this day the name of
barrens, though now heavily timbered, being, at
the time the land was taken up, covered with
scrubby bushes. On our way we crossed a small
river called the Opekon, — and it being the first
day of the week, we attended the Ridge Meeting
of Friends, after which we spent the remainder of
the day, and lodged at night, at the house of our
friend, David Lupton, at the foot of the North
Mountain, — having travelled 18 miles. One of
our horses faltered this morning, having been
too well fed at last night's quarters.

27th. This day travelled 31 miles, and lodged

r

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 9

at Clayton's Ordinary,'*' having crossed the
North Mountain, Timber Ridge, Sandy Ridge
and Capon Mountain ] also forded Great Capon
river and North river. Our road led us through
several long and narrow valleys^ which were well
limbered and rich; we have also passed large
tracts of mountainous, uncultivated, and, doubt-
less never to be cultivated land. It is said deer
are very plenty in the tract through which we
have passed to-day, but none were discovered by
us. Upon some of the mountains, and also in
the valleys, we observed a few tolerably well-
looking farms ; we have also noticed several
small "sugar camps in the course of this day's
journey.

28th. Continued our journey, — forded the
Little Capon river, the south branch of Poto-
mac, Patterson's creek, and the north branch of
Potomac. We also travelled over Little Capon
Mountain, South Branch Mountain and North
Branch Mountain, passing through Springfield,
Frankford and Cresapsburg villages, reaching
Musselman's tavern, near the foot of the Alle-
ghany Mountains ; making a journey of 37 miles.

A snow has been falling for some hours upon
the remains of a former snow ten inches in
depth. Our journey to-day has been very en-
tertaining, notwithstanding the severity of the

^"An Ordinary, is another name for a bouse afford-
ino; indifferent entertainment.

10- JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

weather, and the danger at this time attendant,
on climbing up and descending precipices.

There is much in a journey over these moun-
tains to puzzle, as well as amuse, the naturalist.
Many extraordinary natural curiosities have
fallen under our observation, in the diversified
appearance of mountains, rocks and valleys. We
have passed to-day the most ponderous, craggy and
over-jutting rocks we have heretofore met with,
many of which were elevated several hundred
feet above our heads, and seemed to threaten us
with impending danger; which was not a little
magnified, in our apprehensions, from observing
vast bodies of rock, which had evidently tum-
bled from their lofty summits into the valleys.
Had we been disposed to indulge fancy, we
might have figured to ourselves, in a view of
these rude mountains of rocks, many of those
descriptions met with in Eoman, Greek or
Egyptian history, of amphitheatres, obelisks,
pyramids, &e. &c. ; whil>t many others exhibit-
ed such regular, wavy appearances, interspersed
alternately with oaks and pines, and soil of
various hues, as seemed to challenge the painter
with his diversified shades of coloring. And could
we have observed here goats, white bears and
reindeer, with now and then a human being
clothed in skins and furs, and with weather a
little colder, we might, perhaps, have been led
to suppose ourselves in Lapland. A few settle-
ments are made in this tract, which are mostly

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 11

in tlie valleys. Deer are said to be very numerous
upon tliese mountains — several were seen by us.
We also observed seats erected in the branches
of the trees by the hunters, twenty feet in height,
being concealed stations for the purpose of shoot-
ing deer at the Salt Licks. We have also seen
several flocks of turkeys and pigeons in vast
numbers.

29th. Travelled thirty miles upon the Alle-
ghany Mountains, and at night lodged at Smith's
Ordinary. We have to-day passed through land
heavily timbered, tolerably level, and said to be
rich and clear of stone j of this, the snow pre-
vented us from judging. We also crossed over that
part of the Alleghany ridge which divides the
eastern and western waters of our continent —
the streams all bearing a right hand direction.
Near this part of the mountain, our road led us
through the most beautiful and lofty forest of
spruce and pine I ever saw. This forest is call-
ed the Shades. The trees are generally from
108 to 180 feet in height, many of them without
a limb for 100 feet in height, with a body not
more than 12 inches in diameter at the surface
of the earth.

We also forded one of the branches of the
Youghiogany river, called the Little Crossings,
The principal ridges which we passed are called
by the mountaineers the Back-bone Ridge, (from
Its sharp elevation,) the Winding Ridge and the
Negro Mountain. On inquiring into the origin

12 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

of the Dame of the latter, we were informed,
that many years ago, a white man and a negro
who were bunting together, accidentally fell in
with an Indian upon this ridge who was armed ;
both the negro and the Indian betook them-
selves to trees, presented their guns at each
other, and fired at the same moment, and both
fell dead. Their images are cut upon the trees
behind which they fell, as a memento of the
circumstance. The ridge has ever since been
called the Negro Mountain.

Deer and turkies are numerous upon these
mountains. The hunters have in many places
erected seats, as heretofore described, for the pur-
pose of shooting deer.

Over the gieater part of our journey to-day
we have found snow two feet in depth, A tolera-
ble track is however beaten for us by a descrip-
tion of pedlars, who pass by the name of Packers.
These people carry on a considerable trade be-
tween the Redstone settlements and Winchester,
in Virginia, as also with several other villages
in the western part of that State.

They take with them upon horses, bags of
flax, which article they purchase at Redstone at
a low price ; this they dispose of at an advance,
and in return carry salt, for which they are well
paid at Redstone. It is not unusual to meet a
Packer, having under his direction half a dozen
loaded horses. These animals on meeting travel-
lers, do not turn aside from the beaten path. We

THE WESTERN INDIANS, 13

were several times uader difl&culties in making
our way through the snow on their account.

3d mo. 1st. This day we travelled thirty-six
miles, passed through the villages Woodstack
and IJniontown, and after night reached the
house of our friend, Jonah Cadwalader, in the
neighborhood of Redstone, Old Fort, and near
the Monongahela river. On our way we passed
a place called the Great 3Ieadows, upon the
Alleghany Mountains. This place is noted for
an entrenchment, cast up by General Washing-
ton, then Colonel Washington, when retreating
from a defeat given to a small force under his
command, (near the junction of the Alleghany
and Monongahela rivers,) history says by a much
superior body of French and Indians. We also
passed over the spot where Gen. Braddock was
buried. His army of 1200 chosen men was de-
feated near Fort Du Quesne, in an unexpected
attack by the Indians. We are told that the
General and half this number were killed, and
sixty-four out of eighty-five of his oflBcers ; of
those who escaped was Washington, at the time
Aid-de-Camp to General Braddock. The de-
feated army brought off their dead commander
and buried him in the road, in order to elude
the search of the Indians for his dead body.

It may be remarked that the land in the
neighborhood of the Great Meadows is very
level and the timber heavy, which indicates the
goodness of the soil. A considerable body of

14 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

this land was owned by Washington at the time
of his death.

This day's journey has been very disagreeable
and cold, owing to a continued fall of snow.
AVe greatly regretted that the clouds prevented
a view of the Redstone settlements from the top
of Laurel Hill, this being that part of the Alle-
ghany Mountains from which a descent is made
into the country below. From this commanding
eminence the prospect, we are told, is beautiful
beyond description.

Our disappointment, however, was in some
measure recompensed by finding ourselves, when
upon the top of this hill, not only above the
clouds, but also so elevated in a cloud as to find
the particles of snow resembling fog; a proof
that large spits of snow, as they are called, ac-
quire their size by an accumulation of particles
on their way from the clouds to the earth. I may
here mention, that the difficulties and fatigues
of our journey thus far have been rendered light
by the agreeable company of my brother-in-law,
Thomas Moore, and our esteemed friend, Israel
Janney, the former joining us at Brookeville,
and the latter in the Shenandoah Valley. They
are complying with an appointment by our late
Yearly Meeting, in a visit to a Quarterly Meet-
ing at Redstone.

From the 1st to the 8th of the month, we
rested at Redstone, a rest useful to our horses
as well as to ourselves. In the course of this

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 15

interval, we attended Redstone Quarterly Meet-
ing. There were present several Friends from
the State of Ohio, who reside upon a part of the
tra<3t of country called the Seven Ranges. They
informed us that the Indian Chief, Tarhie,* a
Wyandot of great distinction, with about one
hundred hunters, mostly of the Wyandot nation,
were hunting bears upon a branch of the Big
Beaver, called Mahoning, within about twenty
miles of their settlement, and that a fall of snow
three feet in depth had placed them in a suffer-
ing condition, they not making provision at their
camp for such an event. In this situation the
Friends received the following letter from Tar-
hie.

" My dear Brothers, Quakers, listen to what
I now say to you. You always called us Indians
your brothers, and now, dear white brothers, I
am in distress, and all my young men who are
with me.

" Brothers, will you please to help me to fill
my kettles and my horses' troughs, for I am afraid
my horses will not be able to carry me home
again.

" Neighbors, will you please to give, if it is

*This was Tarhie, (or the Crane,) Chief of the
Wyandots, whom Evan Thomas, and other members
of the Indian Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meet-
^ing, visited at Upper Sandusky, in the 6th month,
1799, and of which a report was published in that
year. See Appendix.

16 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

but a handful a piece, and fetch it out to us, for
nij horses are not able to come after it.

" This is all I have to say at present.

"Tarhie.

" To my Brothers, the Quakers."

About the time of the reception of this letter,
some Friends, who resided nearest to their hunt-
ing camp, furnished them with a small supply
of provisions, which occasioned a second letter
from Tarhie, as follows :

" Brother Quakers, I have a few more words
to say to you.

" Brothers, T want that you should all know
what distress I am in.

" Brothers, I want you to know I have got
help from some of my near neighbors.

" Brothers, I would be glad to know what you
will do for me, if it is but a little.

" Brothers, if you cannot come soon, it will
do bye and bye, for my belly is now full.

" Brothers, I hope you have not forgot our
great fathers; when they first met, it was in
friendship ; we are of the same race.

" My Brothers, Quakers, I hope our friendship
will last as long as the world stands. All I have
to say to you now is, that I shall stay here until
two more moons are gone. " Tarhie.

'^ Addressed to my Brothers, the Quakers.^'

A considerable quantity of provisions were
furnished by the Friends to these Indians, for

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 17

whicli they expressed great thankfulness. Tar-
hie himself divided the presents between man
and man, making no difference for distinction
in rank.

These Friends were informed by Tarhie, that
several years ago he had sent a talk to the In-
dian Committee at Baltimore, accompanied by a
belt of wampum, worth fifty dollars, and had
long been waiting for an answer, but had not
yet received one.

In consequence of this information, a confer-
ence was held at Redstone, between such of the
members of the Indian Committee as could be
convened there. The result was a request made
to four Friends of the neighborhood adjacent to
the Indian camp, to visit Tarhie, and inform him
that his talk was not received by the Indian
Committee, and that his belt of wampum never
came to their hands. Also, if he had any thing
now to say, he must write again to the Indian
Committee.

During our stay at Redstone, we had an op-
portunity of seeing and admiring the richness
of the land between the foot of the Alleghany
Mountains and the Monongahela River. The
people here seem to live in ease and plenty, and
there is scarcely a plantation that does not afford
stone coal and sugar trees. The coal is, I think,
fully equal in quality to the best Liverpool coal,
and is generally used for fuel in the place of
wood; it being much easier and cheaper to pro-
2*

18 . JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

cure a supply of coal, than to procure wood, not-
withstanding that article is in great plenty here.

The sugar trees afford sugar in plenty to those
who are sufficiently industrious to make it. Many
families, we are told, make from five hundred to
a thousand pounds, and others make from eight-
een to twenty-five hundred weight, every spring.
The trees do not appear to be injured by draw-
ing off the sap. Molasses of excellent quality
is also made from this tree, and also smajj beer,
equal to any thing of the kind we met with at
this place, produced from the sap.

Shall I say, a proof of the instability of the
human mind, under the most bountiful supply of
temporal blessings, is to be drawn from the pre-
sent disposition of the inhabitants of Redstone ?
Blest with a country rich and fruitful, and posses-
sing other great natural advantages, there is
nevertheless a general feeling of discontent. The
new country beyond the Ohio, lately opened for
sale, has set the general mind afloat. We saw
people who were well settled, and who some
years ago, too, had passed the meridian of life,
strongly affected with the prevailing mania.

9th. The river Monongahela not having yet
risen, we are greatly disappointed in our wish
and intention to take boat at Redstone for the
mouth of the Miami of the Ohio. We have,
therefore, no other alternative than to prosecute
a long and doubtless fatiguing journey by land.
This morning, whilst we were preparing to pro-

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 19

eed on our route, two young men arrived at our
quarters, for the purpose of accompanying us ;
one of them a blacksmith, and a member of our
Society, the other a carpenter, and a steady young
man. They are under the pay of government,
and have engaged to reside in the neighborhood
of Fort Wayne, to be employed for the benefit
and instruction of the Indians. Previous to our
leaving home, we had reason to expect that we
should be overtaken by these young men, and
were glad to have our expectations realized.

Again proceeding on our journey, we passed
through Brownsville, a village on the Mononga-
hela River; crossed over that river in a boat, and
rode about twenty-six miles to Washington, an
inland town. Our ride to-day has been through
a very hilly country, tolerably rich, though badly
watered. It is said that one of the first survey-
ors of this tract of country, when questioned re-
specting its geoeral appearance, replied, " It is
like a large meadow filled with stacks of hay."
A comparison very apropos.

It is worthy of remark, that near Brownsville,
on the Monongahela, are the remains of an old
fortification, including several acres of ground.
Mussel shells are yet very abundant within the
intrenchment ; and nearly opposite to the forti-
fication are two fish pots extending quite across
the river ; they are made of stone, weighing gene-
rally from thirty to forty pounds. It is said that
the Indians who resided near the spot at the time

20 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

of its discovery by the white men, had not even
a traditional knowledge of the making of these
fish pots, nor of the erection of the fortification.

This day, in passing along, my mind has been
involved in much serious reflection on the im-
portance of our mission. And I trust I have in
no small degree felt the responsibility we are
under, not to men only, but to the Great Author
of all good, with an ardency not to be expressed,
that we may indeed discharge the trust reposed
in us, and perform the duty required of us with
propriety.

10th. Travelled thirty-four miles, and after
night were glad to reach the house of our friend
Jonathan Taylor, in the State of Ohio ; on our
way we passed through the small villages of Tay-
lorstown and West Liberty. The tract of coun-
try through which we have travelled is generally
fertile and is mostly settled. In the course of
this day's ride^ it is observable that limestone is
to be found on the tops of the highest hills, but
is rarely found in the bottoms.

It may now be noted th;it the hills between
the Monongahela and the Ohio rivers are gene-
rally of a very singular description, having two
or three circular elevations, the surface of each
elevation fiat for the space of twenty-five to
thirty feet in diameter. These fiat appearances
extend quite around the circumference of the
hills, and seem to vie with art for regularity.

This day we crossed in a boat the great river

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 21

Ohio, On approaching it, I felt no small degree
of awe. The slow and majestic movement of so
vast a body of running water, added to the re-
colleotion of the blood which had been spilt re-
lative to its shores, enforced the sensation. With
what obstinacy the poor Indians resisted the de-
signs of the white men in making settlements
west of this river I Having been driven further
and further westward, relinquished claim to tract ■
after tract, they here made a stand, fixed in a re-
solve, hitherto ye may come, but no farther !
This river shall be the boundary between us !
It shall limit your encroachment ! The resist-
ance they made, and the blood which was spilt,
sufficiently prove the reluctance with which they
gave up the contest. The bottom upon the west
side of the river where we crossed, which was at
the junction of Short Creek, is very rich, bat not
wide. In this bottom we observed a mound of
earth cast up to the height of fifteen feet, its
diameter at the base forty-five feet, and said to
be a burial place, but whether made by the In-
dians or not is not ascertained. It is said that
two miles below this is a square fortification
containing several acres of ground, enclosed by
a bank of earth thrown up by a'rt to the height
of eight feet.

Along the east shore of the river great de-
struction was made a few years ago by a species
of caterpillar which infested the trees. They
fed upon the leaves, and thus killed trees ot

':>9

JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

enormous size. Their havoc extended for many
miles along the river, and reached about seven
or eight miles from the shore.

11th. This day being First-day, we rested
ourselves and hoises, and vrere glad to have an
opportunity of attending a meeting of Friends,
called Short Creek Meeting, A Monthly Meet-
ing is lately established here by Redstone Quar-
terly Meeting. About forty Friends were at:
this meeting, and most of them were new settlers.
The greater number had moved from North
Carolina. The meeting was held in a log house
or cabin, situated upon a beautiful hill, covered
with lofty timber. The difficulties and incon-
veniences of a new settlement, are rendered the
more easy and tolerable, where, as in the instance
of these Friends, a number of families, by agree-
ment, form a settlement in the same neighbor-
hood. In the afternoon several of them visited
us at our lodgings, and expressed sympathy with
us in our undertaking.

12th. Proceeded on our journey ; travelled
thirty-one miles and reached Randallstown ; part
of the day has been rainy, and the riding very
disagreeable. We have passed through a body
of land heavily timbered and very rich. There
are yet but few settlements made on this tract.
The fiist settlers in this new country erect small
log cabins, which they cover with split timber
called puncheons; these they pin to the rafters |

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 2.^v

with wooden pins. Nails are rarely to be found
in any part of the house. Their floors are hewn
out of the timber, and pinned to the sleepers
with wooden pins. They clear their land by
killing the timber, which is done by girdling the
trees, that is by cutting the bark around the
trees to the wood. They then proceed to the
cultivation of the soil, which produces them abun-
dant crops.

It is a common practice with them to sow
small grain upon the original surface, which is
harrowed in. and such is the looseness and light-
ness of the soil, there seems but little necessity
for the plough in raising the first crop of grain.

Our road led us across a water of the Ohio
called Captena; also several streams belonging to
a river called Stillwater ; thus named from its
slow, silent progress to the Muskingum.

13th. This day we travelled twenty-five miles
and reached Beathe's Ordinary. We have had
a very disagreeable day's ride. A continued fall
of rain, hail, and snow, and the road very miry
and fatiguing to our horses. The land through
which we have passed not quite so good gene-
rally as that noted yesterday. We, however,
saw considerable bodies of excellent land, parti-
cularly of bottoms. Some of them were of far
greater extent than any we have heretofore met
with, being heavily timbered and very rich.
Scarcely a settlement has yot been made in this

24 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

tract ; deer are very plenty here.' It is to be re-
marked, that in riding the last fifty miles, we
have scarcely seen one of any of the descriptlonsi
of the feathered tribes, except owls. Birds love
to resort to the haunts of men.

Squirrels appear to be very numerous, and'
are mostly of a deep black color. In the notes
made on crossing the Alleghany Mountains, I
omitted to observe that the squirrels we saw^
there were mostly red, and less in size than the
grey squirrels of Maryland. They are the most
active squirrel I ever saw, and are called by the
mountaineers the Chipparee Squirrel.

We tijis day crossed several uf the branches of
Will's Creek. This creek we understand derived
its name from Will, a famous Indian, who former-
ly had a town upon its banks culled Willstown.

14th. Travelled twenty-five miles, crossing in!
our way the main branch of Will's Creek and a
water called Salt Creek ; at night reached Zanes-
ville, and lodged at M'Intire's tavern. This is
a town lately laid out on the Muskingum river,
opposite to the junction of Licking creek. Its
situation is verji level and handsome, and will
doubtlei^s command the trade of this new coun-
try. As we approached the Muskingum, our road^
led us upon a hill of about 200 feet elevation,
upon which we rode for a distance of seven ^
miles ; both upon our right and left hand, wert";
chains of hills about ten miles from us, in

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 25

view, beariog the same westerly direction, with
that upon which we travelled. The appearance
of these hills revived the recollection of the
Blue Ridge, and its parallel mountains. Several
mounds or burial places were to-day observed
by us.

15th. This day we travelled thirty miles and
lodged at a small hut called Trimble's.

We ferried the beautiful river Muskingum at
Zanesville, where it is about 600 feet wide, rode
through a tolerable tract of land, till we reached
a creek called Jonathan's creek. From this
creek to the end of this day's journey, a distance
of twenty miles, we rode through land which we
think preferable to any tract we have yet passed,
being more level, the timber heavier and the soil
very rich; many Germans are making settlements
here. Several mounds fell under our observa-
tion to-day; we also saw many deer; seventeen
of these were together in one wheat field.

16th. Rode thirty-two miles, and at night
were permitted to lodge under a roof called
Gray's. We passed through New Lancaster, a
town lately laid out, and situated on the great
Hock-hocking river, as it is called upon the
maps. Its size greatly disappointed me ; an ac-
tive man may jump from one of its banks to the
other at New Lancaster.

This town as well as the neighboring country,
is being rapidly settled by Germans. Durino^
3

26 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

itea our aamiration. inow ana tnen a;{
' natural meadow containing from fiftyl
mdred acres, apparently a perfect level J '

our day's ride, the extraordinary beauty of the
country, as well as the superior excellency of the
land, excited our admiration. Now and then a
prairie or
to two Lu

having neither tree, shrub, stump, or stone, and
the soil the deepest black I ever saw in any com-
position of earths, attracted our notice. These
were surrounded by higher ground, covered with
lofty timber, extending to the next prairie, and
thus on till we reached a tract called the Piqua
Plains. Here our admiration was afresh excited
by a view of the most beautiful scenery we had
yet met with. This tract is perfectly ]eYe] ; it is
situated upon the Scioto river, is seven miles io
length, and generally three miles in width, hav-
ing neither tree, stone or shrub, and composed
of the black earth above described ; it is in part
under cultivation. About the centre of the
prairie is a circular mound of large diameter,
and about forty feet in height, cast up by art.
It is covered with lofty timber. The people
who cultivate these plains find them 4o produce
from eighty to one hundred bushels of Indian
corn, and from forty to fifty bushels of wheat
per acre. They plant corn at the distance of
two and a half to three feet apart, having six to
eight stalks in a hi

In the course of this day's journey we have
seen deer and turkeys in abundance, and for

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 27

several days past have eeea vast numbers of
pigeons.

17th. Travelled fifteen miles and arrived at
the town of Chilicothe, where we were well en-
tertained at Tiffin's tavern. The governor of
the State of Ohio resides here, who having
heard of our arrival, paid us a visit in the even-
ing and supped with us. We were pleased with
his friendly affability. In the course of this
day's short ride, our road led through a continua-
tion of the finest lands.

It is remarkable that there are uniformly
three gradations of elevation, from the banks of
the Scioto river. Th^e first is a bottom of about
one mile in extent, very level and covered with
black walnut, buck eye, blue ash, honey locust,
and sugar trees. Then upon another elevation
of about fifteen feet, a second bottom, which ex-
tends from one to two miles, covered with the
same descriptions of timber, though heavier, and
the trees standing nearer together. Then an-
other elevation about the same height, which ex-
tends for many miles, being a little inclined to
hills ; the timber composed of a great variety.
People are settling fast upon this tract, and
several mills are already erected upon a creek
belonging to the Scioto, which we crossed, called
the Killakanik.

On our way we turned aside from our road
to view an ancient fortification. This fortifica-

28

JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

tion is on the Scioto bottom adjacent to the river
and is shaped thus.

f,-.t°f!?- t'"''.^'^*'"°*'" ^"o^o Ri^er. A pictorial rein-e=Pnt-i
tion of th.s Indian antiquity has been published iu the S fth n^
lan Contributions to Knowledge, vol. if plate xviiL ''^^^^='^=-

The bank of earth thrown up around the for-
tifacatjon IS about six feet high, surrounded by
a ditch upon the outside, now four feet in width
and as many in depth. The bank is covered
with lofty timber, as is also the ground within
the intrenchment. There are several Diound<.
such as have heretofore been described in the
vicinity, and within the town of Chilicothe there
IS another fortification of which the diameter is
about 450 feet. Near this is the largest mound

THE WESTERN INDIANS.

20

we have seen, being 100 feet in diameter, and
thirty feet in height, and is a globular figure of
great regularity. Three miles below the town
of Chilicothe, and between the Scioto and Paint
Creek, and near their junction, is a fortification,
of the foilowino; figure :

«s

Containing SO Acres. ^^

The banks of this ancient work are about six
feet in height. The eight small circles opposite
the openings or gates are mounds of considerable
size.

I had omitted to mention, that on the east
bank of the Scioto, nearly opposite Chilicothe,
we measured to-day a sycamore tree which was
sixteen feet in diameter. The tree is hollow,
and measures thirteen feet across the hollow.
Xew settlers have frequently encamped in this
tree with their families, whilst thej were making
choice of land to settle upon.

18th. Proceeded upon our journey fifteen
miles and lodged at Platter's tavern. On our
way we passed many mounds. Several of them

30

JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

were of the shape and size of the one describe
in the town of Cbilicothe. Our attention W!
also arrested by the appearance of a bank throve
up at some distance from our road ; on riding; 1
it we found it to be a very extensive fortifier
tion. It is situated upon a level plain neil
Paint Creek, one of the waters of the Sciotr.
river. As this is a work of great labor and cur"
osity, I shall be minute in my description an
give the following figure.

Ancient Fortification on PaiBt Creek, near Cbilicothe, contain-
ing within the embankments nearly one hundred acres.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 31

The bank which is cast up for the fortification
is now fully four feet in height, and thirty-three
in width, at the base covered with lofty timber.

The figure marked (A) is a very regular oval
mound 500 feet in diameter, from one extremity
to another the longest way, and 300 feet in
diameter the other way; perpendicular height is
about thirty feet. This mound is paved over
with stone, and has upon it trees of large size, as
well as the remains of decaying trees, which
after acquiring their full growth have fallen.
The two circles marked (B) are very perfect
globular figures. They are one hundred feet in
diameter, and about thirty feet perpendicular
height.

The remaining eight small circles represent
mounds which are from eighty to one hundred feet
in diameter, and from twenty-five to thirty feet
perpendicular height, being also globular figures,
and all covered with lofty timber. I'he semi-
circle (C) is a bank of earth thrown up to the
height of about three feet, its diameter about
one hundred and fifty feet.

Near the outer banks of this extraordinary
fortification are many large holes in the earth,
at least one hundred feet in diameter, and of
considerable depth. These are no doubt places
out of which the earth was in part taken for
making this work of labor.

The land through which we have passed to-
day, is a continuation of a country, very level

32 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

and beautiful, being situated on Paint Creek
the soil, the same in appearance as that dt
scribed yesterday, nothing seeming to indicat
its superior richness, unless it be the size of it
timber. The heaviest and most towering tree
we have seen, we met with to-day. Our progres
was impeded by our curiosity to take the girtl
of many of the trees; we measured white oaki
which were from seven to eight feet in diameter
walnuts, six to seven feet four inches; elms, sii
to six feet eight inches ; ash, five feet, and
honey locusts four feet in diameter; the girthf
taken eight feet above the surface of the earth.
These trees carried their thickness to an amazing
height.

We also measured a few sycamore trees, and
most of them were from eight to ten feet in
diameter ; one of the sycamores we measured
which was eight feet in diameter, continued its
thickness forty-five feet without a limb, its top
very branching and large. While we Were admir-
ing it, Philip Dennis* suggested an opinion
that this tree, could it be split into cord-wood
after the common manner, would measure forty
cords. At first we questioned the statement,
but upon making a calculation, became con-
vinced that his estimate was within bounds.

These were not trees singled out as the only
monuments; we turned not aside to search for
them, but measured such as fell under our own
observation in passing over our road. It is more

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 33

than probable that there are trees in the same
tract larger than any we saw. Few settlements
are yet made here.

19th. Eode seventeen miles, and reached the
residence of our friend William Lupton, upon
Lee's Creek, one of the head waters of Paint
Creek. Our road led us eight times across Paint
Creek ; passing a great part of the way through
the bottoms of Paint Creek. The land the same
in appearance as remarked yesterday. In the
course of our ride, we saw many hundreds of
poplars which were the more observable, as we
have scarcely noticed a poplar since we crossed
the Ohio. These trees are generally seven .to
eight feet six inches in diameter, many of them
continuing their thickness for fifty feet in height,
and very handsome and sound. On the bot-
toms we saw deer in abundance; they were
so gentle as to allow us to pass by them
quite within gun shot. They appeared to be
busy in cropping the young grass. AVe have
also observed several mounds and fortifications
near the falls to Paint Creek, and others nearly
adjacent of which the banks are about three and
a half feet high.

Upon this Creek there are many beaver
I dams, and beavers are still caught here by the
i Indians. For several days past we have seen
i many hunting camps but no Indians. Several
i families of Friends have settled in this remote
I quarter of the Western Teorritory. They have

84 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

removed from Virginia and North Carolina, an(
expect to be followed by others. They tell u:
that an induced meetino^ is held in one of thei
houses.

There is much to induce Friends of the South
ern States, to remove to this new country ; for
added to the consideration of the superior qualit]
of the land, and the cheap and easy terms upor
which it is to be purchased, there is an invalu.
able regulation in the Constitution of Ohio, pro
hibiting the introduction of slaves. The Con
stitution has also provided that no person with-
in the State shall voluntarily relinquish his righ'
to freedom. Its framers have even gone further
they declare that they have made these regula-
tions to be binding both upon them and upoc
their posterity.

This truly valuable country is forbidden ground
to the Virginia slave-holders. Many of them
have approached as near to its borders as theji
have dared, by settling along the east shore oi
the Ohio river ; their murmurs induced several
persons in the State of Ohio, to offer themselves
as candidates to the late State Legislature, de-
claring their determination to use their influence
in obtaining an alteration in this part of the
Constitution. We are told that on account oi
this avowal, they met with the most pointed and
zealous opposition ', the people declariog gene-
lally, that one of the inducements which led
them to emigrate to the State, was the Constitu-

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 35

tional provision by which slavery wasinterdictedj
and that any alteration therein would be an in-
supportable grievance.

20th, This day rode fifteen miles, and reached
Hugh Evans's, upon Clear Creek, one of the head
waters of the Rocky Fork of Paint Creek. The
country through which we have passed is up-
land and lies level. The timber is heavy and
much interspersed with blue ash, hackberry,
walnut and sugar trees. There is scarcely a set-
tlement yet made here.

21st. Our progress has been impeded for
several days past, two of our horses belonging
to our company having faltered. This day we
concluded to rest them by continuing at the
house of Hugh P]vans, who is hearty and cheerful
at seventy-four years of age, his wife equally
so, and seventy-two years of age. The old man
appears to make me welcome at his house, say-
ing he knew my father, having early in life been
his neighbor, and has made many inquiries after
the families of the people who were his old ac-
quaintance. He says he has six children, all of
whom have married to his satisfaction, and that
they lately removed with him from Kentucky,
and are settled around him, each of them upon
five hundred acres of land which he has given
them. He says that it affords him great conso-
lation now in the decline of life, to reflect that
his acquisitions are the fruits of his honest in-
dustry.

36 JOURNAL OP A VISIT TO

22d. This day rode twenty-three miles, an
lodged at Sewell's. Cabin, — a day of snow an
rain. We crossed the ridge which divides th.
waters of the Scioto from those of the LittlH
Miami river. Passed several of the hea
branches of the latter, as also a considerabl
creek called the East Fork of the Little Miami
On oue of the bottoms of the creek we noticed
fortiScation. The bank cast up around was abou
\ tour feet high. We also observed within a fe^
rods several mounds. It is truly a beautifu
country through which we have passed to-day
the land is level, covered with lofty timber, an<
the soil very rich, scarcely a settlement ye
made.

23d. Continued our journey, and after ridinj
fourteen miles, reached the house of Samue
Linton, at Wainsville, upon the Little Miam
river, where we were kindly received. At thi:
place we rested ourselves and horses, acquirec
information respecting our future route, ant
equipped ourselves for the increasing difficultie:
of the wilderness.

The settlement made here is composed chiefly
of Friends ; about thirty families reside in thi:
neighborhood. A Monthly Meeting is helc
here called Miami Monthly Meeting, to whicl
about thirty families more belong who are scat
tered over an extensive tract of country.

Oar attention was attracted to-day by the ap
pearance of the stone, not only in the beds ol

x,_ ■

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 37

the rivers and creeks, but also upon the hills
and in the valleys. They are limestone, and are
composed altogether of marine shells. The stone
when broken discovers the size and shape of the
shells very perfectly.

These shells are of the same description with
those I have formerly obtained from the banks
of the Chesapeake Bay, in the lower part of the
State of Maryland. It may be remarked, that
no shell-fish of this description are at present to
be found in any of the waters of our Continent.

The country west of the Ohio river through
which we have passed is a limestone country,
the very pebbles and even sand in many places
are limestone.

Heretofore I have omitted to mention that in
the neighborhood of Chilicothe, we amused our-
selves with the earths and stones, which were
dug out of the ground in sinking wells. There
are several layers or strata of limestone, gravel,
and sand, within a few feet of the surface of the
earth. Some of the stones contain the above
description of marine shells, and in breaking
some of the large gravel we found appearances
of the same shells. The stones as well as the
gravel have evident marks of their having been
washed with water, their shape inclining greatly
to rotundity.

24th. Again proceeded upon our journey, and
after riding eight miles reached Dayton, where
we lodged. This town is newly laid out^ situ-
4

38 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

ated upon the Great Miami river, nearly of
posite to the junction of Still Water and Ma
river, with the Miami, which is here about on
hundrel and sixty feet in width. We hav
passed to day the Ridge which divides the water
of the Little and Great Miami, and crossei
several of the streams belonging to the Grea
Miami. The tract of country between thi
two, through which we have passed to-day.
is of the most beautiful and desirable de,
scription. The land lies in waves of great regu;
larity, is crossed with heavy towering timber:
and the soil inexhaustibly rich. At Daytoi
\rere two block houses, which were erected bj
the white men, as places of retreat and defence
agc'iinst an attack by the Indians.

25th. Rode twenty-one miles, and reached i
small village called Staunton, situated upon th<
Great Miami river. The country continues tc
exhibit a beautiful appearance, though the tim
ber is not generally so heavy as noted yesterday
We passed several extensive and rich prairies,
and forded Mad river a little above its mouth.
The river derives its name from its swift current.
We also crossed several streams belonsfing to the
Great Miami.

26th. This day after riding fifteen miles, we
reached Flinn's ordinary, where we were disap-
pointed in finding no feed for our horses. We
also received the information that there was no
probability of our obtaining provision for them

THE WESTERN INDIANS. S9

f sliort of Fort Wayne; we therefore despatched
'^'' a part of our company to a house we had pa>«'se'i
"' about four miles, in quest of corn. They obtained
four bushels, and hired a man and horse to travel
with us and bring the corn along. For many
days past our horses have sufiFered for want of
hay, and being fed altogether upon corn they
have lost their appetites.

The face of the country in the course of this
day's short journey is a continuation of beautiful
land; being level, and finely timbered. We
passed through a handsome prairie containing
several hundred acres called the Lower Piqaa
Plain, crossed Honey Creek and Lost Creek,
two considerable streams of the Great Miami.

Thus far in our route we have been favored
with respect to the waters, no rain having fallen
lately to raise the creeks and rivers to a height
sufficient to detain us. In fording some of the
streams we have thought that even six inches
greater depth would take our horses ofi" their feet.
There is considerable danger in fording many of
the streams we have passed, from the unevenness
of the stony bottoms of the rivers. The beds of
the rivers are mostly limestone, and being worn
smooth by the washing of the water, horses are apt
to fall. This was to-day the case with my horse in
fording the Miami, from which accident I got
very wet.

During our detention here this afternoon, we
observed a flock of birds alighting from the trees^

40 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

different in appearance from any we had seen
Our landlord informed us they were parrots, and
that they were common upon the Great Miami :
and to gratify our curiosity he shot one. It was
about the size of a dove, and its plumage resem-
bled the green parrot of South America, the
head red, and the wings tipped with the same
color, the tail long and the bill and tongue of
the same description as the chattering parrot.
As they alighted from the trees, they made a
hoarse noise resembling the chattering of the
common parrot.

There is also a woodcock here resembling the
red headed woodcock of Maryland, except that
its head is black and its bill ivory.

At this place General Wayne erected ai
fortification when on his march against the In-
dians, a part of which is now standing. Ourr
landlord occupies one of the houses which was.*
at that time built and enclosed within the stock-
ade. From tbe late period in the day at which i
our supply of corn arrived for the horses, wei
have concluded to remain at our quarters; the
landlord tells us we shall be welcome to sleep
upon his floor, and has promised to make us a
good fire to sleep by.

This is a kind of lodgment to which we have
become well accustomed, having heretofore in
our journey often had to wrap ourselves in our
blankets and to lie upon floors, always observing
the necessary precaution of laying our feet to the
fire; wc have in no instance taken cold.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 41

27th. This day rode fourteen miles, and on
our way passed a larger prairie than the one we
saw yesterday, which is called the Upper Piqua
Plains. We have also passed a body of land
heavily timbered, but its very level situation
renders it not desirable. Through this tract we
have found a verj deep and miry road, and
have regretted the necessity of a slow movement.
Our hired man has to lead his horse, the bag of
corn being too heavy for the horse to bear his
weight also. We reached a place called Lora-
mier's store, where we found a shelter and
lodged, having through the latter part of the
day rode through rain. On our way we twice
crossed a considerable water of the Miami called
Loramier's Creek.

At this place there is a very large fortification
made by General Wayne called Fort Loramier.
And here it is that the line of division between
the white people and the Indians passes agree-
ably to the treaty of peace* between the Indians
and General Wayne. I may here remark that
for many days in passing along, we have ob-
served hunting camps erected by the Indians,
but no Indians in them.

It is probable they are at present at or near
their towns. We have observed from day to
day many curious, and to us unintelligible In-
dian hieroglyphics cut upon the trees. We have
also been entertained in examining these figures,
sometimes cut, at other times painted on the

* Treaty of Grenville, for which see Appendix.
A*

42 JOURNAL OP A VISIT TO

wood after cutting away the bark, the figures oi
elks, the horns of the elk, the figures of buffaloes,,
bears, wolves, deer, raccoons, and various other
wild beasts, and birds of different species ; turtles
and reptile creatures; also the representation ol
men, women and children, boys with bows and
arrows shooting game, and men with their
guns aiming at game, or in the act of pursuing,
it, &c. &c.

As a testimony in favor of the virtue andl
modesty of these men of the woods, I note, thatj
we have not yet observed amongst this variety
of figures, one unchaste representation.

28th. Rode twenty-two miles through a flat
country, heavily timbered ; at night we encamped
in the woods, made a large fire, fared sumptu-
ously upon wil 1 pigeons, wrapped ourselves in
our blankets and slept soundly. Our pigeons
were shot by one of our company who carries a
gun. There are at this time vast numbers of
this fowl scattered over the woods. They breed
here undisturbedly. Squirrels are also very
numerous. We now and then see a few deer.
They are not plenty here. Wolves, opossums,
raccoons, and some other descriptions of wild
game are abundant. We have not yet seen a
bear, though they are very plenty throughout
the region we have passed over. This is owing
to a remarkable fact in the history of this crea-
ture. They betake themselves to dens in the
holes of trees, at an early period of the winter,

X

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 43

where they remain till the 1st of the 4th month.
During this interval they never leave their holes,
and as fchey lay up no store for the winter sup-
ply, it is certain they live without eating. "The
Indians say they live by sucking their paws.
The means by which their lives are supported)
in their recluse situation, I shall not uudertakei
to determiae. I shall however observe that when'
taken from their dens they are always very fat
We have met with much of their meat, and can
assert that we have seen the thickness of four
inches of fat between the skin and the lean which
covers the ribs. During the winter the Indians
find the bears by searching for their dens in the
trees, which they know by the marks made by
the claws of the bear in climbing.

We have now reached the waters of the lakes,
having to day forded one of the forks ot the St.
Mary's river. On our way we passed for a few-
miles along a road one huudred feet wide, cut
by General Wayne's army for transporting pro-
visions from the great Miami to the St. Mary's
river. The i^oad is now grown up with briars
and shrubs.

Shortly after wc had made our fire, and with

! the approach of night we heard at a short dis-
tance from us, a whooping in the woods. We ■

I had reason to believe from the shrill and uncom- -
mon whoop, that it was the voice of an Indian,
and having underst)od that it was a custom
aiuong them when about to approach a camp, to

44 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

give Dotice by a whoop, we failed not to retnr
the ceremony also by a whoop. In a few qk
ments two Indian men upon a horse, followed b
two women and a girl upon another horse, rod
np to onr camp. Their countenances were srai
ing and indicative of friendship. As we reache
them our hands, they shook them saying, " Sag£
8aga, niches," which we have since learned wa
the salutation, " IIow do you do, brothers." The
could not speak English, b»t putting their hand
to their breasts expressed, " Delawares, Dela
^ares/' from which we gathered they wer
Delaware Indians. They had their bunting ap
paratus with them, and pointing several time
to the south, we concluded they wished to mak^
us understand that their camp was i» that direc
tion, and that they were on their way to it
After looking upon us for some minutes the}
left us.

29th. Very early this morning we agaia pro»i
ceeded, and this day rode thirty miles, a laborious^
fatiguing journey to ourselves and horses. Om
path leading through a flat country we find the
travelling miry and deep. Our horses are to b(
pitied, the stock of corn we procured for their
is exhausted, and the only food they can
now cret is the grass in the woods. For several
nights past we have turned them loose to graze
These poor creatures feed around our camps and
appear afraid to leave us.

This day we crossed the St. Mary's where its

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 45

on >-7idth was about one liundred and fifty feet, it is
mo said to be a very deep river. An old Indian
hand his squaw reside here, and he undertook to
ferry us across in a canoe. Our horses swam
the river, and got over well. The old Indian,
who?e name is Stephen, very unintentionally
swam also. This accident was owing to the mis-
fa conduct of same of the packers, who, on their
c] way to Fort Wayne with provisions, gave Stephen
too much whisky. Philip Dennis was in the
eanoe with him when he accidentally fell over-
board ; we were greatly alarmed for his safety,
piknowing that he was intoxicated, but after dis-
ci [appearing for a few seconds, he rose to the sur-
Lclface of the water, and soon convinced us that he
eould swim. Philip caught him by his blanket,
and got him again into the boat. The old man
jjllaughed very heartily at the accident, saying to
us in broken English, " No fear, me ferry you
in de canoe yet." Our blacksmith having in-
ijformed Stephen of his expectation of settling in
HE the Indian country for the benefit of the red
people, and the old man finding also that our
concpany were all prosecuting their travels for
[Dibenevolent purposes, exercised his gratitude by
telling us ^' You pay one quarter dollar de man ;
nobody keep canoe here but Stephen; he make
the white people pay dollar, I make dem packers
pay me de rest," In Stephen's hut we observed
several Indians who were asleep. He says they
are Indians who have come a great distance and

46 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

are tired. During the greater part of this d:
we have rode through a heavy rain. The ra
continuing with the approach of night, we ma(
a large fire, and erected a shelter in imitation
the Indian hunting camps, covering it with o-
blankets. Under this we slept, and were b
little incommoded, notwithstanding the ra
continued during the greater part of the nisrl

I must not omit to mention that we to-d?
passed through a very level plain containii
many thousand acres. This plain is almost wit
out trees. The soil nearly hid by the weeds ai
grass of last year's growth ; the luxuriance
which plainly demonstrates its extraordinary fe
tility. In this plain we observed a small por
or lake in which were wild geese and ducks
abundance. We are informed that this is oi
of the phices where wild fowl raise their youn

30th. Pursued our path and travelled twent
three miles through a very fettile, heavily tii
bered and beautiful country, being a little n;o
inclined to hills. The ride to-day has been
pleasing one, in part doubtless from the refle
tion that the day would probably close a Ion
tedious and ardut^us journey. We at last reache
Fort Wayne. As we approached the Foi
having reached it within about thirty rods, \
were saluted by a sentinel with the word '' Halt
We obeyed the con)mand. A sergeant was d
spatched from the commanding officer, who e
quired of us on his behalf, " Where are yc

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 47

going," and *' What is your business." We de-
sired him to inform the commandant that we
were strangers, and that we had an introductory-
letter directed to him which would explain our
business.

The officer shortly returned to us with an in-
vitation to advance ; we accordingly proceeded,
and were met very politely by the commanding
officer, Capt. Whipple, to whom we handed the
following letter from the Secretary of War.

" War Department, February 20, 1804.

^'Gentlemen, — Ihis will be handed you by-
Messrs. George EUicott, Joel Wright, and Gerard
T. Hopkins, who are a deputation from the So-
ciety of Friends in Maryland, for visiting the In-
dians in the western country for the laudable
purpose of affording them assistance in the intro-
duction of the arts of civilization.

They are men of high respectability, are ac-
tuated by the best motives, and are entitled to
all the civilities in your power to bestow. You
will please to afford them all necessary aid, and'
treat them with such marks of respectful atten-
tion as are due to citizens whose disinterested
services deserve the ftlaudits of every good man.

'•'■ I am, very respectfully, your humble servant,
" Henry Dearborn.*

*• To the commanding officer at Fort Wavne.

" Mr. John Johnson, Indian Factor.

"Mr. William Wells, Indian Agent."

* General Dearborn was well acquainted with the
membei-s of the mi-sion who resided at Ellicott's

48 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

After deliverint^ this letter we proceededl
the house of a Canadian trader, who we had p ^
yiously been informed would furnish us w
accommodations.

In the evening the Commandant followed
to our quarters, discovering marks of great
spect and attention, and appears to be a gent
man. He has urgently pressed us to dine w:
him to-morroW; and we have accepted the in
tation.

81st. This morning the commanding offic
accompanied by John Johnson and Willie
Wells, the two other persons named in the letl
to the Secretary of War, waited upon us. Th

Mills, and letters frequently passed "between the
He was deeply Interested in the improvement of t
Indian tribes, and having heard of the deputati
about to be sent from the Friends of Maryland
Fort Wayne, he drew up this letter, and also the o
which will be seen in the following pages to the coi
manding officer, and the Indian agent at Detroit, ai
wishing to impart all the information he possesse
to relieve a journey to a place then considered so d:
tant a settlement, he took the trouble to deliv
them in person at Ellicott's Mills, and suggest f
return of the mission by the way of Lake Erie ai
Niagara. The General was a noble looking man, ai
although he had been actively engaged in our R
volutiouayy war, still appeared to be in the vigor
life ; he made the trip from Washington to EUicott
Mills on horse-back attended by his son and a se
vant, a distance of forty miles, and returned tl
next day in the &ame way. T'.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 49

expressed to us they were glad to see us, and
invited us with marks of earnestness, each one,
to make his house our home. We thanked them
for their kindness, and accepted the invitation
of the Factor, John Johnson, whom we accom-
panied to his house.

In an interview with these three persons we
communicated to them more fully the object of
our visitj and consulted with them respectino;
the best mode to pursue, in order to effect our
purpose. It was deemed advisable that an ex-
press be sent to the Little Turtle and to the Five
Medals. The former residing at his town called
Turtle's Town, about eighteen miles from this
place, situated upon Eel river, a water of the
^^abash, and the latter on the river Sr. Joseph
of Lake Blichigan, about forty miles hence, in-
forming them of our arrival at Foit Wayne, and
that we wished to see each of them there at an
early period. This charge William Wells readily
took upon himself, and we have no doubt he will
comply with his engagement.

We fulfilled our promise in dining to-day with
Capt. Whipple, the commanding officer. We
were all accompanied to his house by John
Johnson, who dined with us. The officer behaved
with a freedom and gentility becoming a well
bred man. After dinner he showed us more
fully the fort. This fortification which was
built by General Wayne, is large and substantial,
and is situated opposite to the junction of the

50 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers, and precise!
the place from which those waters take the narc
of the Miami of the Lake,"^ bearing that nao]
to Lake Erie. The fort commands a beautify
view of these rivers, as also of an extent (i
about four miles square of cleared land. Muc
of this land has been cleared by the army of th
United States, and much of it was formerly don
by the Miami Indians; they having had a larg.
town here. It is said that in the year 1785, th
Indian town then at this place contained upward
of one thousand warriors. The garrison kcp
here at present contains about forty ofl5cers an
soldiers It being a time of profound peace witl
the Indians, government have withdrawn th
large force formerly kept at this station.

The spot where Fort Wayne is situated is ren
dered famous in Indian history. It was her<
that the Indians gave the army of Genera] Har
mar a second defeat by which several hundrec
of his men fell. Their bones lie scattered upot
the surface of the earth, and we are told thai
the route by which the army made an escape
can be readily traced for the distance of five oi
six miles by the bones of those slain by the In-
dians.

The grave of the Toad, nephew to the Little
Turtle, a distinguished young chief, who with
the Little Turtle and other chiefs visited the

* Now called the Maumee river.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 51

P'ricnds of Baltimore two years ago, is l.ere ; le
died very suddenly on his return from that jour-
ney. His death was greatly lamented by the
Indians, and for a long time after his burial his
grave was visited by them, and many singular
ceremonies performed over it. They buried with
him his rifle, his hunting apparatus, his best
clothing, all his ornaments, trinkets, &c. &c. ke.,
their value being not less than three hundred
dollars.

4th month 1st. This day is the first day of the
week, and the inhabitants of Fort Wayne appear
to pay no respect to it. The soldiers are on
duty, and the Canadians who are settled here
are busied with their several occupations. After
breakfast we paid a visit to William W^ells, and
after spending several hours with him returned
to our quarters. In the afternoon we observed
three Indians advancing toward our lodgings,
and soon discovered that one of them was the
Five Medals, the other two were his sons. He
had not heard of our arrival till he reached Fort
Wayne, and the only information he had ob-
tained was that some Quakers had come. Busi-
ness had brought him to the fort. They were
invited into our room, when the chief instantly
recognized us both. He appeared glad to see
US; and shook hands with both of us very hearti-
ly. A person be ing present who understood the
Pottowattamy language, he said to him pointing
to me, '' This is the man who wrote our talks in
Baltimore."

52 JOURNAL or A VISIT TO

The Five iVIedals very deliberately and cai
didly replied to our inquiry after his health i
follows : '^ That, in the course of last fall he wei
to Detroit, that whilst there the white peop:
made him drink whiskey. That after he ha
accomplished his business there, he set out fc
his home, and -ot upon his horse whilst th
whiskey was in his head. That he had not rod
tar before he fell from his horse, and was ver
much hurt by the fall and that ever since tha
time he had not been well."

After some further mutual inquiries, relativ
to the welfare of red and white acquaintance, w
informed him through an interpreter that w.
liad come to see our red brethren, that we hac
messages for both the Little Turtle and himself
and were glad that it had so happened that w.
had come. That we hoped the Little Turth
would come to-morrow, and that we wished tc
see them together, having something to say tc
them. He appeared pleased with this informa-
tion and expressed that he had made a camp
not tar off, where he would wait for the arrival
of the Little Turtle. After some -enerul con-
versation he withdrew, bidding us fa^rcwell.

w n "^".^r^?/ -^^'°" ^''^^^^'^ ^0 ^ioe to-day with
^\illiam Wells, who is interpreter for the In-
d.ans, we went to his house accordingly, havincr
tlie^ company of our very worthy and^kind land!^

About mid-day the Little Turtle arrived. He

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 53

approached us with a countenance placid be-
yond description ; took us by the hand with cor-
diality, and expressed himself in terras of great
gladness at meeting with us. He inquired very
particularly after his friends and acquaintance of
Baltimore^ after our own welfare, the path we
had come, and the difficulties we had encoun-
tered on our journey through the wilderness.
Having answered his questions, he replied in
turn to our inquiries as follows : That since he
saw us it had pleased the Great Spirit to take
away two of his brothers and a nephew. That
his nephew was the Toad, a young chief who
was with him in Baltimore. That he died on
his return from that visit, and within a few miles
of home, of which circumstance he had desired
William Wells to inform us. That with respect
to himself, he was hut lialf well, having been
very sick last fall and expected to die. That
his. white brothers at Fort Wayne, hearing of
his illness, sent a doctor to him who gave him
physic and made him better. That he had now
seen fifty-three winters, and two of his brothers
being dead, made him think of death, and that
his time would soon come.

He also told us that he had left a brother at
his town who would have accompanied him,
being very desirous to come with him, but could
not find his^ horse in time. After this, other
conversation took place of a general nature. The
interpreter informs us that his complaint is the
5*

54 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

gout, and that in the time of his illness he (th
interpreter) had told him that his complaint be
longed to great folks and gentlemen. " Well '
said the Turtle, "I always thought I was';
gentleman."*

About 2 o'clock we dined. At the head of the
table sat the interpreter's wife, who is a modesti
well-looking Indian woman, and the daughter
of a distinguished chief She had prepared foi
us a large well roasted wild turkey, and also a
wild turkey boiled, and for these she had pro-
vided a large supply of cranberry sauce. The
Little Turtle sat at table with us, and with
much sociability we all partook of an excellenti
dinner.

In the afternoon the Five Medals, attended by
his sons, visited us at William Wells' house,
and the opportunity being a suitable one, we
proposed to them that a formal conference should
then take place between us. This proposition
meeting their assent, we opened the conference
by desiring the interpreter to inform them that
we Had received their talk sent to us last fall,

* By the suffrage of all who became acquainted with
icni .^ Turtle during his visits to Baltimore in
IbOl and also in lb07, he was acknowledged to be
a gent eman m character, appearance, and manners.
His estimate of himself therefore was not too hish.
tor his speech before the Indian Committee in Balti-
more in IKII, and other information concerning him,
see appendix. ° rp '

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 5 5

informing us that the implements of hiisbandrj,
which we had sent to them last year, had come
to them safely, and that we had carefully ob-
served all that was coutained in that talk. That
we were deputed by their brothers and friends of
Baltimore to come to see them. That we had
accordingly come, and had with us a letter di-
rected to them, which we thought ought in the
first place to be read, and after that we might
have something to say to them. A short pause
having taken place, they expressed a desire that
the letter should be read, which was accordingly
done, and interpreted to them as follows :

"From the Committee appointed for Indian
Affairs by the Friends of Maryland to the Little
Turtle and the Five Medals, Chiefs of the Potto-
wattamy and Miami nations of Indians :

'■^ Brothers and Friends. — We have received
your talk, communicated by our friend William
Wells, after the reception of the implements of
husbandry sent last spring for your use. In
that speech, as well as when you were in Balti-
more, you have told us that you thought it best
for some of us to go out to see you, that we
might be better capable of judging what could
be done further for the benefit of our red breth-
ren.

" Brothers and Friends, — In compliance with
your request we have named our beloved friends
George EUicott, Gerard T. Hopkins, Joel WMght,
and Elisha Tyson, to go and visit you and to take

56 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

you by the hand on our behalf. And we desir
that you will receive them, or any of them the
may be enabled to perform the journey as you
brothers, in whom we have confidence, 'and tha
you will receive any communications from ther
as being from us, who are desirous of assistin
you in what may add to your comfort, and tha
of your women and children.
Your friends and brothers,

William Stabler, Evan Thomas,
Isaac Tyson, Elisha Tyi^on,

Benjamin Ellicott, Jonathan Wright,
John Ellicott, p^lias Ellicott,

Edward Stabler, Jonathan Ellicott,

Philip E. Thomas, Thomas More,
Andrew Ellicott, Jr., Samuel Snowden.
Baltimore, 2d mo. 4:th, 1804."

At the contents of this letter they expressec
their satisfaction, and after a pause of severa
minutes we addressed them through an interpre
ter as follows :

^' Brothers ^ and Friends. — You observe thai
the lett.^r which has just been read, makes men-
tion of fuur of us appointed to visit you. One
of these was an infirm man who thought he
could not endure the fatigue of so long a jour-
ney, and therefore did not come. The other
did not omit to come for the want of love to his
red brethren ; family circumstances rendered it
mcoavenient for him to leave home. You see,

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 0/

[brothers, that it has pleased the Great Spirit
Ithat two of us mentioned in the letter, should
[reach the country of our red brethren. Brothers,
we thought it right in the first place to send for
lyou, and to show jou the letter which has just
been read. We are fjlad that you are now come,
(and that we have this opportunity of taking you
[by the hand.

'' Brothers, we believe that we have some things
to say to you which are of great importance to
our red brothers, to their old men, to their young
men, to their women, and to their children.

" Brothers, we may now mention that we have
not come merely to talk, but we hope we have
come prepared to do a little for the welfare of
our red brethren.

" Brothers, in looking over our business, we
have thought that we should be glad to have an
opportunity of seeing our red brethren together,
and are willing to propose for your consideration,
that you should now fix upon some place, and
agree upon some time to meet us again, and that
our brothers invite their old men, their young
men, their women and their children to meet us,
when we shall have something to say which it
may not be necessary now to say.

^^ Brothers and Friends^ — Should you think
that the proposal which we have now made is
proper, and conclude to meet us in the manner
we have pointed out, we expect we shall have
}but little more to say at present." Here a pause

58 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

for some minutes took place, wbon the Lit!
Turtle inquired, "If the Friends had move
say." He was answered in the negative.

After a further pause and some conversati(
between the two chiefs, they rose from thej
seats, and perceiving that they were advancit
toward u>j, we also arose from our seats. On mee
in^x them, they took us by the hand, and wit
countenances indicative of great gravity, shoo
hands with us and returned to their seats.

The Five Medals then commenced a speec
as follows : —

"Brothers and Friends: My friend, the Li
tie Turtle, and myself, together with my tw
sons, who are present, rejoice to have this oppoi
tunity of seeing you, and of taking you by th
hand.

" My Brothers : We are glad to be informed
that you received our talk sent to you last fall
and to find that you are now come to the countr
of your red brethren.

" My Brothers and Friends : We rejoice tha
the Great Spirit has conducted you safely to oui|
country, and figure to ourselves that in you w(
sec the rest of our brothers and friends of Balti
more, and that in taking you by the hand, w€
take them by the hand.

" Brothers : We know that you have come a
long distance to see the situation of your red
brethren. We have no doubt that you have
things to say which are of great importance to

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 59

IS, and which do not belong to a few only Lut
fo many.

'Brothers: Your brethren the Indians do

business not as the white people do. We con-

'i^ene our chiefs, and things of importance are

onsidered by them. But, brothers, you have

3ome to see the situation of your red brethren.

[t is our wish that you should see it. You shall

QOt be disappointed. The proposal you have

tnade to us we think right, and have concluded

ilthat this place (Fort Wayne,) is the best place

fco be fixed upon for the purpose you wish. We

are pleased to find that you have a desire that

(bur young men should be present to hear what

ryou have to say, and as it is your wish to see our

i^^omen and children, we desire that you may

have an opportunity of seeing them.

■' Brothers and Friends : Our young men are
out huDtinp:, and our women and children are
DOW at work at their sugar camps. The time is
not far off when they will all retura to our
'towns, when it is usual to meet together. We
^hope, brothers, that you will not be in a hurry,
but will allow us time to collect our people to-
Igether."

Here a pause took place, when we inquired if
they had any thing further to add. And being
answered in the negative, we addressed them
again in substance as follows :

" Brothers and Friends ; When we left our

60 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

homes, wc knew it was early in the season, an
expected that we sliould get to the country t
our red brethren at a time when their youn
men, their women and children would be busj
But brothers, a part of the service* which we dt
sign t) render to you, required that we shoul
come early, and makes it also necessary that w
should now be in a hurry.

" Brothers : We will also add that when w
were chosen by our friends at home to pay ; y
visit to our red brethren, our women and chil
dren consented that we should leave them, bu
charoed us that we should not stay away fron
them longer than circumstances really required
A li>iig time has already past since we left them,
we therefore hope, brothers, that in three or foui[i
days it will be in your power to get togethei[
some of your people. Those that are far from
home we do not wish that you should send for."

The Little Turtle then observed that the rea-
sons we had given were good. The Five Medals
next remarked that at the time proposed, they*
could easily convene a considerable number of
their indolent people, who were too lazy to hunt'
or make sugar, but such they did not wish us to
see. Their industrious young men and women

•**■ The Friends were desirous that their agricul-
turist, Piiilip Dennis, should arrive amongst the
Indians in time to plant corn. T.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 61

iwere too far from home to be convened in so
short a time.

Here a short conversation took place between
the chiefs, and afterwards they proposed seven
•laj-'s hence as the time; desiring that to-morrow
I might not be counted, as it would take them a
day to return home. To this we consented.

The Five Medals then expressed as follows :

" Brothers, it would have been very desirable
to us if you could have met us at the time of our
counsel. We have very often told our people
of the Quakers. They listen to us, but are at a
loss to know what sort of people the Quakers
are. If you could stay, brothers, they would
Ihave an opportunity of seeing the Quakers, and
of hearing words from your own mouths.''

After this the Little Turtle added :

" Brothers : We hope the words that you
may say to us at the time we have appointed to
meet will be upon paper. From that paper we
can at some future time have your words de-
livered to our people. This, brothers, will in some
measure answer the end."

During a pause which occupied several

minutes we asked them if we understood each

other. The Turtle replied, "■ Yes, perfectly ; we

have nothing further to do now than to look for-

j ward to the day appointed.''

After this we took each other by the hand
and very cordially bade farewell. We then re-
turned to our lodgings.
6

62 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

Id the evening we again had the company ol
the chiefs, they having been invited by oui
landlord to take supper with us. |

8d. This day rainy, and spent chiefly alji
William Wells'.

Be.-ides the garrison stationed here, there is i
large store of goods established by the United
States, for the purpose of supplying the Indians.
The store is kept by our landlord. Several
Canadian traders also reside here, who exchange
goods with the Indians ; some of them have re-
sided here for more than thirty years. The In-
dians are daily arriving with their peltry, some
of them exchange them for goods, others re-
quire money. The women bring sugar, which
is generally neatly packed in a square box made
of bark, cnntaiuing about fifty pounds. It is
made from the suffar tree. This art has lony;
been known to the Indians. They make and
use large quantities of sugar. AVe have seen
very white and clear looking sugar of their manu-
facture.

4th. Rode about two miles up the St. Mary's^
river and viewed the remains of old Indian
houses, also the fields on which they cultivated
corn, where the corn hills are still discernible.
We also observed large numbers of Indian gravt s.
These are now discernible only by the sunken
cavities in the surface of the earth. In the
course of our route we have seen many Indian
graves of more ncent date. They bury iheir

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 63

dead about three feet below the surface of the
earth ; and over the grave they either place a
heap of stones or a pen of lo^s. If the de-
ceased has been a person of distinctioD, they
plant posts at the head and foot which they orna-
ment very curiously.

In a review of the many circumstantial evi-
dences which have fallen under our observation
of the former population of this western world,
I am ready to adopt the expressions of a pious
author :

" Where is the dust that hath not been alive !
The spade, the plough, disturb our ancestors ;
From human mould we reap our daily bread."
Young's Night Thoughts.

4th month 5th. Spent the day with Captain
Wells. We walked with him up the St. Joseph's
river, and were shown the ground upon which
the Indians under the command of the Little
Turtle defeated a part of the United States army
under Greneral Harmar, killing 800 out of 500
men. We also followed for a considerable dis-
tance the route which the soldiers took in their
retreat, and saw many of their bones. Amongst
these were skulls which had marks of the
tomahawk and scalping knife. Many of them
had fallen on the east bank of the river, and
also within the river. The Indians being sta-
tioned behind trees on the west side shot them
in their attempt to get across.

We were shown the tree behind which the

64 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

Little Turtle took his station, as also a tree neg
it behind which his nephew fell. This was
second defeat, the United States troops havin
been routed the day before on Eel river.

6th. Spent the day in the neighborhood c
Fort Wayne, in the course of which we visite
Captain Whipple. This afternoon several In
dians from different tribes arrived, bringini
with them skins and furs. These arc mostl;
brought by the women upon their backs, th^
men thinking it sufficient to carry their gun,
and hunting equipments.

We saw this evening a white woman, who
when a small girl, had been taken captive, anc
has ever since lived amongst the Pottowatam^
tribe of Indians. She tells us (through an in^
terpreter) that she has no knowledge of th€
part of the country from which she was taken,
nor of her family. That she remembers her name
was Dolly, which is the only distinct recollec-
tion she retains of herself previous to her cap-
tivity. This woman is dressed in Indian habit,
is painted after the Indian order, and has so
effectually adopted Indian manners, that a nice
observer would not discover from external ob-
servation her origin, except from the color of
her eyes, which are grey.

7th. Visited William Wells, and rode with
him up the St. Mary's about five miles. On
our way we passed several sugar camps, at which
were Indian women and children who were em-

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 65

ployed in making sugar. Their huts were large,
and covered with the bark of the Buck Eye
wood. Their troughs for catching the sugar
water as it is called, are made of the bark of tl e
tred elm, they are made thin, and the ends tied
'together. We were shown the places where
stood the houses of several distinguished char-
acters amongst the Indians. Captain Wells also
took us to the ground, where the Little Turtle
reviewed his men, and gave them their orders
before going against the army of General St.
Clair. It is an extensive plain near the river.
I Wells was then one of the number, and says the
iLittle Turtle had one thousand four hundred
men ; St. Clair's army consisted of a much larger
number, and were about fifty miles distant at
the time. The Little Turtle divided his men
into bands or messes, to each mess twenty men.
It was the business of four of this number alter-
nately to hunt for provisions. At 12 o'clock
eych day it was the duty of the hunters to re-
turn to the army with what they had killed. By
this regulation, his warriors were well supplied
with provisions, during the seven day's in which
they were advancing from this place to the field
of battle. It is well known that at day break
the Indians commenced an unexpected attack
upon St, Clair's forces, killed nine hundred of
his men, and put his whole army to flight.
Wells says, that only about thirty Indians were
killed in the battle^ and that about twenty died
6*

66 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

afterwards of their wounds. He also relate*
the following anecdote:

A considerable altercation arose amongst tb
Indians on the _ review ground, relative to i
Commander-in-Chief. Some were in favor o
Buckangehelas, a principal chief amongst thi
Delawares, whilst others were in favor of th(
Little Turtle. At length Buckangehelas himsel
decided the controversy by yielding to the Litth
Turtle, saying that he was the youngest and nios
active man, and that he preferred him to him
self. This reconciled the parties, and the Littk
Turtle took the command.

We also rode to view a prairie which extend;
from the St. Mary's river to the Little river, a
branch of the "Wabash. The distance from one
to the other is not more than four miles, and
the highest ground is not more than five feet
above the water in either river. The Indians
say that in high freshets they have passed from
one water to the other in their canoes, A canal
might easily be cut here, and at a small expense,
by which the waters of the lakes and the waters
of the Ohio, (and of course the Mississippi)
would be connected. An abundance of furs
and skins taken on the waters of the Ohio and
the Wabash, are brought up the latter river in
boats by the Canadians and the Indians, and
thence taken across a portage of eight miles to
the Miami of tLe Lakes,* whence they are

* The Maumee river.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 67

again conveyed by water to Detroit ; goods suit-
able for the Indian trade are also transported
back again by the same route.

After spending some time in viewing the re-
mains of several old Indian towns, graves, hiero-
glyphics, &c. &c. &c., we returned to William
Wells' house, where we dined, and in the even-
ing returned to our lodgings.

8th. Paid a visit to the carpenter and black-
smith who accompanied us as before mentioned.
They are both at work. The blacksmith is re-
pairing Indian guns, and the carpenter is at
work upon a council house which the govern-
ment has ordered to be built for the Indians at
their request. The house is to be built of hewn
logs, fifty feet in length, and twenty-five in width.
We also amused ourselves in attending to the
manner of packing furs and skins. Our friend
Jonathan has several Canadians now employed
in that business. They are packed by a ma-
chine constructed for the purpose, by which the
work is performed expeditiously. The packs
are made in squares of about two and a half feet,
and contain from thirty-five to forty deer skins,
or about two hundred raccoon skins.

9th. On the evening of this day, we received
a message from the Little Turtle, informing us
that the Indians had arrived, and that they
would be ready t^ meet us at 10 o'clock the next
morning,

4th mo. 10th. At 10 o'clock this mornincr we

68 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

proceeded to "William Wells', who, as we before
observed, is interpreter for the Indians. We
were accompanied by our friend John Johnson,
Captain Whipple, Lieutenants Campbell and
Simms, and several other reputable persons, and
were met by the following chiefs :

0-bas-se-a, (or the Fawn,) a village chief of
great distinction in the Miami nation.

Os-so-mit, a village chief of the Pottowattamy
nation, and brother to the Five Medals.

Me-she-ke-na-que, or the Little Turtle, a war
chief of the Miami nation.

They were attended by a considerable num-
ber of their principal young men, and by several
women.

The Five Medals was not present. He had
informed us on taking leave, that circumstances
required him to return to his town, and that the
distance would be too great for him to return in
time to meet us, his infirmities occasioning him
to travel slowly, but that he would send his
brother, who would report to him faithfully all
the proceedings of the council.

After we had taken each other by the hand,
the chiefs took their seats by the side of each
other. Their principal people next seated them-
selves according to the rank or distinction which
they held. After them, their young men in
circular order, seat after seat, — and lastly, the
women, — who occupied seats separate from the
men, being placed near the centre of the room.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 69

We took our seats on the opposite side of the
house and in front of the Indians.

Being all thus seated — I speak literally, when
I say my heart palpitated — I felt the importance
and dignity of our mission ; I wished our heads
were wiser, and feared for the result of so in-
teresting an opportunity.

After a few minutes had passed, the Little
Turtle observed, that when we met before, they
had informed us of the difficulty there was in
convening the Indians at so early a period in
the season, and that those of their people then
present with him were all who were likely to
attend to listen to what we had to say.

We then proposed that the letter from our
friends and brothers at home, read to the Five
Medals and the Little Turtle at the time of our
first meeting, should be again read for the in-
formation of our Indian brethren now attend-
ing.

This proposal was deemed proper^ and the
letter was accordingly read.

After a short pause, we addressed them as
follows :

'^ Brothers and Friends : We know that the
most of our Red Brethren are, at present, at
their hunting and sugar camps, and did not ex-
pect to see a large number at so short a notice.
We have^ therefore, atrreeably to your request,
put upon paper the things we have to say, and
hope you will not fail to have them communi-

70 JOURNAL OP A VISIT TO

cated, when, at some future time, you may b
more generally assembled/^

One of us, then standing up, read to them th'i |
following address ; The interpreter, also standinj
between us and the Indians, interpreted our com
munication : " The Address of George Ellicot
and Gerard T. Hopkins, delivered to the Littl
Turtle and the Five Medals, Chiefs of th^
Miami and Pottowattamy nations of Indians, an(
others."

" Brothers and Friends : When we were to
gether, eight days ago, with the Little Turtlt
and the Five Medals, the letter was read t(
them, which has just been read. That letter
you observe, says that we were appointed bj
the people called Quakers, of Baltimore, to visi
you, and to take you by the hand on their be
half, desiring that you would receive any coms
munications from us, as coming immediately
from them.

" Brothers : After that letter was read, oui
hearts were filled with so much love for our Rec
Brethren, that, on looking over and considering
the business upon which we had come, we fell
a desire to see as many together as could be
convened — and this day was that agreed upoD
for us to meet you.

'' Brothers : We believed that the things we
had to say were of great importance to our Red
Brethren, and therefore it was that we request
ed to see you together, that you all might have
an opportunity of hearing what we have to say

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 71

" Brothers : Our hearts are filled with thank-
fulness to the Great Spirit, that He has
brought us safely to the country of our Red
Brethren, and protected us through the journey.
We also rejoice that He has given us thisopporr
tunity of seeing you, and of taking you by the
hand.

'' Brothers : It is now a little more than two
years since your Brothers of Baltimore had an
opportunity of becoming acquainted with the
Five Medals, the Little Turtle, Tuthinipee, and
some other chiefs. They were glad of that op-
portunity of having a talk with them, and of
enquiring after the situation of their Red
Brethren.

'' Brothers : We had for some time entertain-
ed apprehensions, that the many changes which
were taking place in circumstances, must greatly
change the situation of our Red Brethren, and
that the time was fast approaching, in which it
would be necessary for them to alter their mode
of living.

"Brothers: After our talk with the chiefs
whom we have just mentioned, we were fully con-
vinced that the time was come, in which our Red
Brethren ought to begin to cultivate their lands;
that they ought to raise corn and other grain,
also horses, cows, sheep, hogs, and other animals.
We then proposed to afford them some assist-
ance. They appeared to be glad of the proposal,

72 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

and informed that many of their people wer
disponed to turn their attention to the cultiva
tion of the earth. They also expressed a desir
to be assisted by their l.rothers of Baltimore.

"Brothers: Having been encouraged by th^
opportunity which we then had, we sent to th
care of the Agent for Indian Affairs some ploughs
harness for horses, axes, hoes, and other imple
ments of husbandry, which were made for th(
use of our Red Brethren, and desired that the;;
might be distributed amongst them as tokens o
our friendship.

"■ Brothers : We received last fall, througl
the hands of the Agent for Indian Affairs, ;
talk from the Little Turtle, the Five Medals
and others, informing us that they had receive(
the implements of husbandry, and requestei
that their Brothers of Baltimore would sen(
some of their people into the country of thei
Bed Brethren for the purpose of seeing thei
situation, and showing them how to make use o
the tools, saying they did not know how t{
hegin.

''Brothers: It is for these purposes that W(
have now come ; and we again repeat, that w
rejoice we have the opportunity of seeing you
and of taking you by tlie hand.

" Brothers : In coming into the country of ou
Red Brethren, we have come with our eyes open
And although we are affected with sorrow, ii
believing that many of the Red Brethren suffe

t

THE WESTERN INDIANS. id

much for the want of food and for the want of
clothing, yet our hearts have been made glad, in
seeing that it has pleased the Great Spirit to
give you a rich and valuable country. Because
we know that it is out of the earth that food
and clothing couie. We are sure, brothers, that
with but little labor and attention, you may raise
much more corn and other grain than will be
necessary for yourselves, your women and chil-
dren, and may also, with great ease, raise many
more horses, cows, sheep, hogs and other valuable
animals, than will be necessary for your own use.
We are also confident, that if you will pursue
our method in the cultivation of your land, you
will live in much greater ease and plenty, and
with much less fatigue and toil, than attend
hunting, for a subsistence.

"Brothers: We are fully convinced, that if
you will adopt our mode of cultivating the earth,
and of raising useful animals, you will find it to
be a mode of living, not only far more plentiful
and much less fatiguing, but also much more
certain, and which will expose your bodies less
to the inclemencies of the weather than is now
attendant upon hunting. It will lead you,
brothers, to have fixed homes. You will build
comfortable dwelling-houses for yourselves, your
women and children, where you may be shelter-
ed from the rain, from the frost, and from the
snow, and where you may enjoy in plenty the
rewards of your labors.
7

7* dfOtJRJJAli 01' A YISIT TO

" Brothers : In laying these things before
you, we have no other motive than a desire of
heart for the improvement, the benefit and the
welfare of our Red Brethren-^and therefore it
is that we speak with freedom, and we hope^,
that what we have to say, will go in at one ear^
and not come out at the other, but that it will be
remembered by our Red Brethren. For we
know, brothers, that we shall not be ashamed of
what we say, when, in time to come, you com-
pare the things we are saying to you with youif
experience in practising them,

"Brothers: We will here mention, that the
time was, when the forefathers of your brothersj
the white people, lived beyond the great water,
in the same manner that our Red Brethren now
live. The winters can yet be counted when
they went almost naked, when they procured their
living by fishing, and by the bow and arrow in
hunting-— and when they lived in houses no bet-
ter than yours. They were encouraged by some
who came from the sun-rising, and lived amongst
them, to change their mode of living. They
did change— they cultivated the earth, and we
are sure the change was a happy oncy

*' Brothers and Friends : We are not ashamed
to acknowledge that the time was when our fore-
fathers rejoiced at finding a wild plumb tree, or
at killing a little game, and that they wandered
up and down, living on the uncertain supplies
of fishing and hunting. But, brothers; for your

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 75

encouragement, we now mention tliat, by turn-
ing their attention to the cultivation of the
earth, instead of the plumb tree, they soon had
orchards of many kinds of good fruit& — instead
of wild game, they soon had large numbers of
oattle, horses, sheep, hogs, and other valuable
animals,— and in many placets, instead of their
forests, they had large fields of corn and other
grain, as also many other valuable productions
of the earth.

" Brothers : We hope your eyes will be open
to see clearly, the things which are best for you,
and that you will desire to pursue them. We
believe, brothers, that it is in the heart of your
father, the President of the United States, to
assist his red children in the cultivation of the
earth, and to render them services which will be
greatly for their benefit and welfare. We hope
that your exertions to change your present mode
of living will be so plain to him, that he will
see them. This will encourage him to continue
to aid you, in your endeavors,

" Brothers, we have spoken plainly ; we de-
sire to speak plainly. We will now tell you
that we have not come merely to talk to you.
We have come prepared to render you a little
assistance. Our beloved brother, Philip Dennis,
who is now present, has come along with u.s.
His desire is to cultivate for you a field of corn ;
also, to show you how to raise some of the other
pr.odttctloDs of the .earth.. He knows how to US'*

76 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

the plough, the hoe, the axe, and other imple-
ments ot husbandry.

"Brothers, we here ask you, are you still de--
sirous to be instructed by us, in the cultivatiom
of your lands ? If you say you are, our brother,
whom we have just mentioned, will continue
with you during- the summer. We shall leave
it to you to show him the spot where to begin
to work.

" Brothers, he has left a farm, he has left a
wife, and five small children, who are very dear
to him; he has come from a sincere desire to be
useful to our red brothers. His motives are
pure, he will ask no reward from you, for his
services, his greatest reward will be in the satis-
faction he will feel in finding you inclined to
take hold of the same tools which he takes hold
of, to receive from him instruction in the culti-
vation of your lauds, and to pursue the example
he will set you.

*' Brothers, we hope you will make the situa-
tion of our brother as comfortable as circum-
stances will admit. ^\e hope, also, that many
of your young men will be willing to be taught
by him, to use the plough, the hoe, and other
implements of husbandry. For we are sure,
brothers, that as you take hold of such tools as
are in the hands of the white people, you will
find them to be to you like having additional
hands. You will also find that by using them,

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 77

th'dj will enable you to do many thiEgs which,
without them, cannot be performed

" Brothers, there is one thing more which we
wish to add. The white people, in order to get
their land cultivated, find it nec-essary that their
joung men should be employed in it, and not
their womea. Women are less than men. They
are not as strong as men. They are not as able
to endure fatigue as men. It is the business of
our women to be employed in our houses, to
keep them cl-ean, to sew, to knit, spin, and
weave, to dress food for themselves and families,
to make clothes for the men and the rest of their
families, to keep the clothes of their families
clean, and to take care of their children.

" Brothers, we desire not to mention too many
things to you, but we must add a little further.
We are fully convinced that if you will turn your
attention to the cultivation of the earth, to rais-
ing the different kinds of grain, to erecting mills
for grinding grain, to building comfortable dwell-
ing-houses for your families, to raising useful
animals — amongst others, sheep, for the advan-
tage of the wool, in making clothing — to raisiug
flax and hemp for your linen; and your young
women learn to spin and weave, that your lives
would be easier and happier than at present,
and that your numbers will increase, and not
continue to diminish. As we before observed,
brothers, your land is good. It is far better
than the land the white people near the great
7*

To JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

water cultivate. "We are persuaded that your
land will prt)duce double the quantity of any
kind of grain, or of flaX; or of hemp^ with the
same labor necessary near the great water.

^' Brothers and Friends : We shall now end
what we have to say, with informing you that
all the corn, and other productions of the earth,
which Philip Dennis may raise, we wish our
red brethren to accept of, as a token of our
friendship. And it is our desire that the chiefs
of the Pottowataniy and 3Iiami nations, who
are now present, added to our brothers, the Five
Medals, Tuthenipee, and Philip Dennis, make
such a distribution thereof as they may think
proper.''"^

The Indians observed great gravity and de-
corum, during the time of our addressing them,
and seemed to reiterate the sentiments delivered
by repeated shouts.

At the close of our communication, a short
pause took place, during which we informed
them that we had no more to add at present,
but wished them to speak freely. After which
a conversation, occupying several minutes took
place between the chiefs, and some of their

* The address was published in pamphlet form in
Baltimore, by the Indian Committee in 1804, and also
appeared in the newspapers of the period, and was
much commended for its earnest and enlightened
simplicity. " T.

THE WESTERN INDIANS, 79

principal men, which being in the Indian lan-
guage was to us unintelligible. They then rosa
upon their feet, and shook hands with us with
great solemnity, and then returned to their
■«eats.

In a few moments the Little Turtle arose and
delivered the following speech, which one of us*
wrote in short hand, from the mouth of the In-
terpreter.

^' Brothers, it appears to me to be necessary
that I should give you an immediate answer, as
you are about to return to your families from
whence you came.

" My Brothers and Friends, we are all pleased
to see you here, and to take our brothers, the
Quakers, through you by the hand. We re-
joice that the' Great Spirit has appointed that
we should this day meet. For we believe, that
this meeting will be of the utmost consequence
to your red brethren.

" Brothers, what you have said, we have care-
fully gathered up, we have placed it in our hearts,
in order that it may be communicated to our
posterity. We are convinced that what you
have said is for the good of your red brethren-
We are also convinced that our chiefs and war-
riors, our women and children will be all of our

•■^ Gerard Llopkius, who Tras a fine short iiand
writer. T.

80 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

opinion, and will be glad when they have heardl
what you have said.

" Brothers, we take you now by the hand, and!
through you we take the people who sent youi
here by the hand, and assure you we are pleasedli
that the Great Spirit has let us see each other,,
and converse together upon the subjects whiehi
you have communicated to us.

" Brothers, you see there is not a large num-
ber of us here. What you have said to us will I
not remain with those who are here alone. Itt
will be communicated to all your red brethreni
in this country. And I again repeat, that I ami
convinced they will be glad to hear what you;
have said to us, to our women and children.

" Brothers, when we saw you with the rest of
our brothers in Baltimore, upwards of two years
ago, I expect you recollect perfectly the conver-
sation between us at that time and piace. I,,
there with my brother chiefs, told you that we 3
were glad to find you so much disposed to assist t
us, our women and children. We told you thatt
your good wishes should be made known to alll
your red brethren in this country, which has'
been done.

" Brothers, ever since that time, I, as well as
some others of my brother chiefs, have been en-
deavoring to turn the minds of our people to-
wards the cultivation of the earth, but I am
sorry to say we have not yet been able to effect
any thing.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 81

" Brothers, there are so few of our chiefs now
ipresent, it would not be proper for us to jinder-
take to give a pointed answer to your talk. We
expect that in a few moons there will be many
of our people together. At that time it will be
proper that we should return an ansvv'er to all
the subjects you now mention to us.

" Brothers, the things you have said to us re-
quire the greatest attention. It appears to me
to be really necessary to deliberate upon them.
In order to do so, we must beg to leave the paper
upon which they are written, that we may com-
municate them to our chiefs when they assemble^

" Brothers, all the words which you have said
to-day were certainly calculated for our good.
You have enumerated to us the different kinds
of grain and animals we ought to raise for our
comfort. You have told us that if we all adopt
the plan you have proposed, we should want for
nothing. This, brothers, myself and many of our
people believe is true, and we hope we shall
finally be able to convince our young men that
this is the plan we ought to adopt to get our
living.

" Brothers, you have come a long distance to
render service to us. We hope that you will
meet with the success you wish, you have been
very particular in pointing out to us what will
be for our good. You have also been very par-
ticular in pointing out to us the duties of our
women, and you have told us that in adopting

82 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

your mode of liviog^ our numbers would increae
and not diminish. In all this I perfectly agre
with you. And I hope the other chiefs wl
also agree with you.

" Brothers, we are pleased to hear you sai
you are going to leave one of your brothers witi
us, to show us in what manner you cultivate th
earth. We shall endeavor, brothers, to mak
his situation amongst us as agreeable to him a
will be possible for us.

'^ Brothers, we are convinced that the plai
you propose will be highly advantageous to you
red brethren, We are also convinced that yoi
have observed very justly that we shall not thei
be liable to sickness. We are certain that Wf
ghall then be able to make a more comfortabh
living with less labor than at present. And ]
hope that this will be the opinion of us all,

'^ Brothers, I again repeat that I am extreme
ly glad to hear the words you have said, and W(
will keep them in our hearts for the good of oui
young men, our women, and our children, ]
have now delivered to you the sentiments of oui
people who are present."

After a short pause he then added :

" Brothers, assure your people who sent you
here, tell your old chiefs that we are obliged tc
them for their friendly offers to assist us in
changing our present mode of living ; tell them
that it is a work which caonot be done immedkUe

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 83

ly, — tliafc we are tliat vmy disposed , and we liope
it will take place gradually/'

Here the speaker sat down for a sbort time,
and then rose again, saying,

'' Brothers, my heart is so overjoyed and
warmed with what you have said, that I find I
had forgot to mention one of the most important
things.

'^ Brothers, at the time we first met at this
place, the Five Medals and myself formed some
idea of your business. We expected you had
come to do for us the things you had proposed
to us when in Baltimore, We consulted each
other upon the answer necessary to return to
you in every respect, and I now find that our
idea was right.

'' Brothers, the sentiments which I have de*
livered to you were his seotiments. You have
now told us, that your brother has a mind to
Hve amongst us to show us how to cultivate the
earth, and have desired us to show him the spot
where to begin. We agreed then, that he should
be at neither of our villages, lest our younger
brothers should be jealous of our taking him to
ourselves. We have determined to place him
on the Wabash, where some of our families will
follow him, — where our young men I hope will
flock to him, and where he will be able to in-
struct them as he wishes. This is all I have to
say. I could all day repeat the sentiments I
have already expressed ; also how much I have

84 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

i

been gratified in seeing and hearing my brofiiors
but that is not necessary. I am sorry, brother;
that the chiefs of our country are not all presen
that they might all hear what you have said, am
have an opportunity of talking to you/'

At the close of this speech we were informe
that nothing would be added by the Indians t
the communication made by the Little Turtldi
We then told them that the words spoken bb
the Little Turtle should be carefully carrie'
home to our brothers and friends who had sen
us. We also informed them that notwithstandiDi
we were now desirous to return to our homes si
soon as possible, yet we wished to see the plac
which they designed to be the station of ou
brother, Philip Dennis, and hoped some of tbei
would show it to us. We further added, tbi
this did not arise from any jealousy in ou
minds that the place fixed upon was not suitablt
On the contrary, we had no doubt that they ha
judged wisely ; but that the love and respec
which we bore to our brother, led us to desire t
bear him company to the place, and also to rer
der him every assistance in our power before w
left him.

They then informed us that they would coi
suit and fix upon some one to go with us. Th
business of the council being then at an end, ^
in turn rose from our seats, and shook hand
with them, which concluded the formalities c
the opportunity. After entering into a littl

THE WESTERN INDIANS. , 85

onvcrsation, we told them we should -rjow bid
hem farewell, as we expected we should not see
hem again. They then took us separately by
he hand, and with marks of great affection and
riendship bade us farewell, and we returned to
lur quarters.

4th month 12th. Being a fine pleasant morn-
ing we set out for the place on the Wabash as-
signed by the Indians to Philip Dennis. We
hrere accompanied by William AVells and Mas-
anonga, (or Clear Sky,) a handsome young man
if the Wea tribe, deputed by the Indians to
)ilot us, who (by the bye) says he shall be the
irst young man to take hold of Philip Dennis'
)lough.

After riding eight miles, we came to the place
ailed the Portage, on Little river, a navigable
vater of the Wabash. Then down the margin
>f the river, leaving it to our left. At the end
)f four miles, crossed Sandy Creek, another navi-
able water of the Wabash ; then proceeded
hrough the woods, and at the end of thirteen
niles further again came to Little river, at a
)lace called the Saddle. This name is derived
rom a large rock in the bed of the river in the
hape of a saddle. From the Saddle we pro-
ceded six miles along the margin of the river
0 its junction with the Wabash.

The bed of the Wabash here is of limestone.
\fter riding five miles further, we came to a

86 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

vein of land about one mile in widtb, the sur
face of which is covered with small flint stones
and which we are told extends for several miles
On examining these flints, we found them o
excellent quality.

Here the Indians supply themselves with flint,
for their guns and for other purposes, and hen
formerly they procured their darts, it has cer
tainly been a place abundantly resorted to fron
time immemorial. This is evident from the sur
face of the ground being dug in holes of twoanc
three feet in depth, over nearly the whole tract
This flinty vein is called by the Indians Fathe
Flint. They have a tradition concerning it
origin which is very incredible. From this w^
proceeded, and after riding two miles, reachei
the place proposed by the Indians.

This place is thirty-two miles rather south o
west from Fort Way be, and is situated on th^
Wabash, at a place called the Boat-yard, whicl
name it obtained from the circumstance o
General Wilkinson having built some flat
bottomed boats here, for the purpose of tran
sporting some of the baggage of the America]
troops down the river. It was formerly the sea
of an Indian town of the Delawares, and we ar^
pleased to find there are about twenty-five acre
of land clear. The Wabash here makes a beau
tiful appearance, and is about sixty yards wide
A little above is an island in the river, on on^
side of which the water runs with a strong cur

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 87

rent, and affords a good mill seat. We viewed
the land in this neighborhood for a considerable
distance, and found it high and of superior
auality, being covered with sugar trees of enor-
nous size, black walnut, white walnut, hack-
Derry, blue ash, oak, buckeye trees, &c., all very
large. The land appears to be equal in quality
to any we have seen, not excepting the bottoms
of the Scioto and Paint Creek. About half a
piile below, a handsome creek falls into the river
from the north, which we traced for a consider-
able distance, and are convinced it affords a good
mill seat. This creek bearing no name, we called
it Dennis' Creek in honor of Philip Dennis.

As night approached, Massanonga, taking his
knife, left us, and in about fifteen minutes re-
turned with a remarkably fine turkey. This he
prepared and roasted for us in a very nice and
expeditious manner, on which we fared sumptu-
ously. At 9 o'clock we wrapped ourselves in
our blankets, and laid down to sleep before the
fire, having no shelter, The night was frosty ;
we, however, slept tolerably and took no cold.

In the night the otters were very noisy along
the river, the deer also approached our fire and
made a whistling noise ; the wolves howled, and
at the dawn of day turkies gobbled in ail direc-?
tions.

18 th. Early this morning we arose, and
breakfasted on the remains of the turkey cooked
last evening, after which we tod upon the place

88 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

for Philip Dennis' farm ; we also staked out the
situation for liis wigwam, which is about om
hundred feet from the banks of the Wabash, anc
opposite to a fine spring of excellent water issuing
out of the bank of the river.

We are told by several persons well acquainted
with the country, that from hence to St. Vin-
ceunes, on the Wabash, a distance of two hun-
dred miles by land, and three hundred and fiftv
by water, the land on both sides of the river
embracing a very extensive width, is not inferioi
to the description given of this location in yes-
terday's notes.

At Mississinaway, a large Indian town of the
3Iiami's, situated about thirty miles below us,
on the Wabash, stone coal is found, which with
limestono continues for two hundred miles down
the river.

There are no Indians between this and Fort
Wayne, neither any between this and Mississin-
away. Philip Dennis' nearest neighbors will be
at the Little Turtle's town, eighteen miles dis-
tant. Whilst here we have seen four peroques
loaded with peltry, manned by Canadians and In-
dians, on their way up the river to be tran-
sported to Detroit.

I may here observe that the Wabash affords
an abundance of large turtles, called soft shelled
turtles, the outer coat being a hard skin, rather
than a shell. They are esteemed excellent food.
It also affords a great variety of fine fish, and

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 89

we saw ducks in abundance ; we are told it is re-
sorted to by geese and swans.

About 8 o'clock in the morning we set out
for Fort Wayne, where we arrived about 3 o'clock
in the afternoon, and after dining with William
Wells returned to our lodgings.

14th. I may here observe that some days ago
we came to a conclusion to return home by the
way of the lakes ; to this we have been induced
from a hope that we shall be subjected to fewer
difficulties and much less fatigue than to retrace
the way by which we came; and I may also
add, that we have been encouraged to this by
the advice of our kind friends heretofore named,
who have with much apparent cheerfulness
offered to prepare a way for us; and this morn-
ing being informed by our worthy friend, Cap-
tain Whipple, that the boat intended for us
would be in readiness against to-morrow, we
spent the day in making preparations, and in
writing to our families.

15th. This morning we bade both a joyful
and sorrowful farewell to Philip Dennis, and
the two young men who accompanied us out.
We also took leave of those generally with whom
we had formed an acquaintance, first breakfast-
ing with Captain Whipple, whose hearty kind-
ness to us has been so often repeated, that his
name will deservedly claim a place in cur re-
membrance. He has fitted out a perogue for us
8^

90 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

and manned it with a corporal and private
soldier from the fort ; and, joined by John John-
son and William Wells, has stocked it with ar
apparent superabundant supply both for eating
and drinking.

About 8 o'clock we embarked for Detroit, pro-
ceeded about thirty miles down the Miami of the
lakeS; and in the evening encamped under a tent
near the margin of the river. With respect tc
the appearance of the country, the same old
phrase must be continued ; " land of excellent
quality." We several times went ashore to view
the river bottoms, they were extensive and ap-
peared to be first rate land. The timber, buct
eye, ash, elm, sugar tree, oak, hickory, black
and jvhite walnut, &c. We saw ducks in abun-
dance, and Corporal King says they breed here
in great numbers. This river affords a variety
of fine fish, and mostly of descriptions very dif-
ferent from those found in our salt waters. 01
these the following are some of the names;
black, yellow, and white bass, covers, pickerel.'
suckers, herrings, muscanago, gar, pike, catfish,
sheeps-head, carp, and sturgeon. These are all
caught with the hock except the two last.

The sturgeon are now on their way from the
lake to the head waters of the St. Joseph's and
St. Mary's rivers. In company with the Little
Turtle, our friends, John Johnson, William
Wells, and some others, whilst at Fort Wayne,
the conversation turned upon fish^ and the then

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 91

'UUDing up of the sturgeon ; the Little Turtle
\rery huaiorously proposed to Johnson a project,
^hich was to join in building a stone dam at the
junction of the two rivers, to prevent the sturgeon
from getting back again to the lake, and then said
lie '•' you and I will live on them this summer.''
We observed to-day (15th,) several hunting
and sugar camps, and went on shore to visit two
of the latter. The camps were well supplied
with jerk venison, dried raccoon, sturgeon, &c. ;
one man only was at the camp, and he was em-

if ployed with his knife in making a paddle for his
canoe. A squaw was knitting a bag, and an-
other was preparing the bark of the buckeye for
thread, strings, &c., by beating it with a piece
of wood. We saw amongst them several fat and
healthy looking children, who were playful and
did not appear to be afraid of us. The children
presented us with a quarter of fresh venison, for
jwhich we returned them some salt meat and bis-
cuit, with which they were pleased. Here we
saw a child about six months old fixed to a board

1, in the genuine Indian fashion. The board was
straight, about fifteen inches in width, and two
and a half feet in length, having at its head a
circular handle, and at the foot a small ledge.
To this the child was lashed by cloth bandages,
and so tight that it could not move hand or foot.
iThe board was placed against a tree, almost per-
pendicularly, and the infant asleep — of course in

I |a standing position. The child was painted very

92 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

red, and had silver bandages about its wrists-
and ornaments of the same metal in its ears
The Indians are very fond of their children, and
put about them very costly silver ornaments.

I have seen Indian children dressed in a caliccd
frock which was stuck with silver broaches from
neck to heel, besides ornaments on the wrists.^
in the ear, and about the neck and head.

4th month 16th. Proceeded very pleasantly;
down the river about fifty miles, and at nighii
encamped under our tent. In the evening ii
severe thunder gust came on, with heavy raini
which continued for several hours after night
but having a good tent we did not get mucl
wetted. In the course of the day we saw wile
fowl in abundance, also passed by several Indiar
hunting and sugar camps. Our Corporal is verj
fond of saluting the camps with an imitation o:
an Indian whoop, which they are sure to answei
by a similar note. This whoop very nearly re
sembles the shrill yelp of a dog. The land ap'
pears to be of an excellent quality, and deer anci
turkies are very numerous. Here also

'^ The prowling wolf howls hideous all night long,
And owls vociferate the dread response."

17th. Proceeded about thirty-five miles, and a
night encamped under our tent. We have beer
entertained to-day with a diversified scene. The
river covered with wild fowl, fish jumping uj
around uS; and turkies flying.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 03

We stopped a short time to view the remains
of Fort Defiance. This fort was built by Gene-
ral Wayne, in the course of his march to attack
the Indians. The situation is very beautiful and
commanding, at the junction of the river Great
A.U Glaize with the Miami. The two rivers
make a large body of water, the width being
about two hundred yards. A Canadian trader
only resides here. We also went on shore several
times to visit Indian towns and camps. Great
numbers of Indians are settled upon the banks
of the Miami ; they are chiefly of the Ottoway
and Shawnese tribes. They appeared pleased
at receiving visitors. Their children were very
iantic, and seemed to leap for joy on seeing us
ipiand ; doubtless from a hope of receiving some
ipresents. The hunters are returning to their
1 towns, and many of their wigwams are stocked

th peltry, dried raccoon, and jerk venison.

They are on their way to tlie foot of the rapids.

^he women are mostly employed in knitting

]foags and belts and in making moccasins. A

considerable number of Indians are on the river

in bark canoes loaded with peltry. They are on

the way to the foot of the rapids and other places

for the purpose of exchanging their peltry with

(tlie traders for goods. Most of the wigwams we

ohave seen to-day are covered with rushes sewed

e together, which are procured from the shores of

njLake Erie, and so put together, that the covering

will turn any fall of rain. An Indian house is

94 JOURNAL OP A VISIT TO

constructed bj putting two forks into the ground,
and a horizontal piece from one fork to the
other. Upon this piece rest long pieces of bark,,
with the other end upon the earth at a conveni--
ent distance, thus sheltering them from the
weather. Sometimes they make circular wig-
wams, by putting small saplings into the ground!
in circular order, then bringiug the other ends?
to a point, they tie them together. These they
either cover with bark or with the rush mats
before described.

To-day we passed a place called Girty's town,
noted for the former residence of Simon Grirty.

18th. Proceeded about thirty-three miles. In;
the earlier part of the day we passed several;
creeks and small streams, and at length reached-
what is called the head of the rapids, The river is^
here about four hundred yards wide. The noise
of the falls informed us of our approach, long be^
fore we reached them. Having reason to be-
lieve that our peroque was manned by careful!
hands, we resolutely entered the rapids and de--
Bcended with great velocity down the fall for the
distance of eighteen miles to the foot of the
rapids. The whole of this distance is a continued
fall, the land falling with the same regularity,
and generally elevated but a few feet above the
surface of the water. It is needless to say that
we went swiftly down, when I add, that it is ^
trip occupying but one hour and a half.

The bed of the river is a solid limestone rock.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 95

At the foot of the Rapids we lodged all night at
the house of a Canadian trader, ^vho treated us
with great respect, and, though a tavern-keeper,
would receive no pay from us for our supper,
lodgings, or breakfast. A considerable encamp-
ment of Indians, who had come to trade with
him was near his house. They were very merry
for a great part of the night, keeping up a con-
tinued sound of their favorite instruments of
music, amongst them the drum and fife. The
former is made of part of the body of a hollow
tree, with the ends covered with deer skin, upon
rwhich they beat with sticks, the latter they
make of reed into which they bore holes some-
what in imitation of a fife. The foot of the
Rapids is rendered well known in American his-
tory, as having been a place of frcqnent ren-
dezvous by the Indians, previous to their defeat
by General Wayne. Here also the Indians burnt
many of the white men who were taken prisoners
by them. To this place Wayne marched, and
here he met and defeated the Indian army.

About eight miles above the foot of the Rapids
and near the centre of the river, in a very rapid
situation, is a noted rock called by the Cana-
dians, Rochede Bout, (or standing rock.) This
rock is about thirty feet in height above the
surface of the water, and the same in diameter.
The top has the regular appearance of the roof
of a house, and the body of the rock is circular.
Its appearance is additionally handsome from

9b JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

the circumstance of the roof, as it is called, being
covered with cedar.

Fish are now passing up the Rapids in great
numbers from the lakes, iasomuch that the water'
smells strongly of them. They are taken very
abundantly by the Canadians and Indians. The
fisherman without seeing them strikes his barbec
spear to the rocks, which often passes througbi
several at a time, and frequently of differeni;
kinds. The muscanonje are taken here in grealf
numbers ; they are a fish from three to five feet it
length.

19th. This morning we proceeded with diffii
culty ten miles ; owing to high winds, and a rairi
coming on, prudence seemed to dictate that w(»
should put into a harbor, which we did at thet
mouth of Swan creek, where is a small fort anc(
garrison lately estabhshed by the United States-
Introductory letters were given us at Fori
AVayne, to Lieutenant Rhea, the Commandant!
which we delivered. He treated us with respectt
and with him we spent the remainder of the dar
and lodged. Ou our way we stopped to view an
old fort, called Fort Miami, which was garrisoneci
by the British at the time Wayne defeated thd
Indians.

Many Indian villages and wigwams are seatec
on both shores of the river, and many Canadiai
traders are to be found residing amongst them
They have generally intermarried with the In^
dians, and adopted their manners. Some of thi

THE WESTERN INDIANS. \

\

ndian houses whicli we passed to-day are bu\
f small round logs, and are roofed with bark
s'ear the mouth of Swan creek is an extensive
alley of which we took a particular view. Here
be Indians placed their wives and children at
he time they agreed to make battle with Gene-
al Wayne.

The river increases in width from the foot of
he Rapids toward the lake. It is more than
lalf a mile wide opposite Swan creek, and at
Dresent has the appearance of tide water ; a
itrong east wind having brought a heavy swell
^rom the lake, which has in a short time raised
he river more than three feet in perpendicular
weight. "We saw to-day geese and swans in
rreat abundance.

20th. This morning notwithstandinfr the very
Unfavorable appearance of the weather, it being
rainy and the wind high, we again proceeded.
^t the end of three miles we reached the mouth
3f the river, where we entered a beautiful circu-
lar bay, about six miles in diameter, called Miami
bay.* The wind continuing high, we proceeded
along the margin of the bay, for about ten miles
to a point called Bay Point. This is the ex-
treme point of land, between Miami Bay and
Lake Erie. We attempted to turn the point in
'order to enter the lake, but the situation being
bleak and the wind high, occasioned a heavy

* Now called Maumee Bay.

98 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

swell, unci apprehending danger, we tliougbt it
most advisable, however reluctantly, to put tc
shore and encamp.

The shore of that part of the bay which we
have passed, as also of the lake now in view, is
elevated but a little above the surface of th^j
water. The country is level and appears rich
The bay is resorted to by vast numbers of wile
fowl.

21st. The last night has been very stormy anr
rainy. Our tent, though a good, one did no
shelter us altogether from the rain. The higl
swells in the course of the night, breaking ove:
our peroque, filled and sunk her, which has oc
casioned our men much labor and difficulty. Anc
during this day the storm continuing, we hav(
been obliged to remain under our tent.

22d. About midnight the clouds dispersing
wind becoming calm, and the moon shining ven
refulgently, we were encouraged again to embark
notwithstanding a considerable agitation of th.
lake from the storm, and were successful enougl
to turn Bay Point, after which we proceedec
without difficulty to Point Raisin, near the moutll
of the river Raisin, (or Grape river,) making :
distance of about twelve miles, when the wine
rising we made an unsuccessful attempt to ge
round the Point, and were again obliged to seel
a harbor and wait for a calm. Shortly after w«
had put into harbor a fish approached the shorr

THE WESTERN INDIANS.

ery near to us and seemed to be at play.^ One
f our men advanced toward it very cautiously,
nd with an oar, gave it a blow upon the tail,
rhich so disabled it that he caught it. We
ound it to be a muscanonje, measuring four feet
wo inches in length and proportionally thick.

he muscanonje is from head to tail very beau-
ifully spotted, and is I think not inferior to any
ish I ever tasted.

! For several days past we have been not a little
iiortified at being confined to a harbor, whilst
he Indians are passing us very frequently in
heir bark canoes. It is astonishing to see these
anoes riding large swells without danger. It is
ertain that they will ride waves whose height
xceeds their length.

Many of the bark canoes of the Indians have
alien under our observation. They are gene-
ally made of the bark of the birch tree, and
haped differently. We have seen bark canoes
oaded with two thousand five hundred weight,
^hich were so light that two men could carry
hem on their sheulders with great ease, The
onstruction of the smaller description of these
(oats is so simple, that in an hour they will
Lave a canoe made which will carry several per^
ons across their rivers. We have also seen many
f their rafts. These are made for crossing
ivers at those seasons of the year when it is not
asy to strip the bark from the trees. In all the
iver bottoms the buckeye wood is to be found.

100 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

This they prefer for making a raft, on account
of its lightness when dried, it being a wood nearly
as light as cork. The Indians tie together small
logs of the buckeye wood, to form a square of
about five or six fctit, this they cross by pieces
of any other description of wood, confining piece
to piece by bark strings, splits of hoop ash, &c.
Upon a raft of this description, three or four
persons will cross their rivers even though the
currentbe against them.

We had not been long in harbor, before our
anxiety to proceed exceeded our patience, and
observing in view at an apparent distance of one
and a half to two miles from us, about fifty
bouses resembling a village, we concluded to
abandon our peroque, walk to the settlement,
and then endeavor to procure horses to take us
to Detroit.

At 11 o'clock this morning we set out for this
purpose, followed by our men with our baggage
on their backs, and after walking over a wet
prairie, through mud and water, half a leg and
more in depth, for the distance of nearly six:
miles, we reached the place. Viewing this set-
tlement from the lake, and over a tract so level
that the elevation between it and us did not ex-
ceed two feet, occasioned us to be so greatly de-
ceived in the distance. On arriving we found
that, instead of a village, it was a settlement oi
French farmers situated along the river Pvaisin,
and presenting a very beautiful scene. The

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 101

farms contain from sixty to eighty acres, laid off
in parallelograms. The buildings are good, and
the gardens and orchards handsome. We un-
derstand that about two miles higher up the river
there is another settlement composed of about
forty families, and upon Otter Creek, about four
miles distant, a third settlement containing about
thirty families. These people are Roman Ca-
tholics. We were soon informed that the dis-
tance from here to Detroit was thirty-six miles
by land, and that the road passed through so flat
and wet a country, for the greater part of the
way, that at this season of the year, it was almost
impossible to travel it on horseback, and were
advised to wait on the wind for a passage by water.
W^e, therefore, concluded to take lodgings at
the house of John Bedient, who has offered to
entertain us, and dispatched our men to the boat,
with instructions to come up the river Raisin for
us, as soon as wind and weather permitted ; being
so wearied and overcome with our " Jack-o-Lan-
tern'' excursion, that we could not consent to
retrace our steps to the boat.

23d. A strong west wind, attended with heavy
rain last night and this day, have prevented our
men from getting to us. It is a fact well-known
here, that northwest and west winds are as certain
to produce cloudy weather as easterly winds with
us. This is doubtless owing to the humidity of
the vast western lakes. The same winds are
severely cold in winter_, no doubt from the im-
9*

102 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

mense bodies of ice tlien accumulated upon those
lakes.

24th. This morning our men arrived about 8
o'clock, with the|)eroque, the wind having abated
and the weather fair. We again embarked, and
on our way down the river Eaisin were amused
with the great numbers of wild- geese, which
were at play in the ponds near the margin of the
river. They feed here so undisturbedly, that
though we were within gun shot of them, they
took but little notice of us. We again entered
the lake, and encouraged our men to make the
best of its smooth surface. They proceeded with
great industry, and at night we reached a Wyan-
dot town, called Brown's town, making a distance
of about thirty miles. Here we concluded to
lodge at the house of William Walker, who is
interpreter for those of the Wyandot nation who
are settled on this side of the lake. He is
married to an Indian woman who speaks good
Englifh, and is very conversible. She gave us
for supper bacon, bear's meat, and eggs fried,
also a dish of tea.

Brownstown is situated at the mouth of the
Detroit river, and on the American side. The
river Detroit is a vast body of running water.
Its mouth is two miles in width, and the water
passes out of it into the lake with a strong cur-
rent. Its channel is wide, generally ten fathoms
in depth, and in many places much deeper. The
name Detroit river is a corruption. Detroit, a

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 103

Frencli word, sig;nifies the Strait, a name much
more appropos, it being but an outlet from the
waters of the western lakes to Lake Erie,

25th. This morning our cui*io?ity led us to
take a view of Brownstown. The village contains
about one hundred houses, which are generally
built of small round logs, and roofed with elm
bark. These Indians cultivate a considerable
quantity of corn, and their fields are enclosed
with rails of their own splitting. We saw a
sample of the wheat which they had raised the
last season, which looked well. They have gar-
dens and a considerable number of fruit trees.
They have a small number of cattle, and raise a
large number of hogs. The interpreter says they
are greatly disposed to civilization, and have re-
quested of the United States to furnish them
this year with cattle, instead of goods or money
for their annuity.

After taking breakfast, we again embarked
and proceeded up the river Detroit, passing by
another Indian town called AValk-in-the-Water
village, a name derived from the principal chief
of the settlement. The village contains about
twenty houses, and bears the same civilized ap-
pearance as Brownstown.

After passing the river Le Cas and the river
Eange, we came opposite to a British town
called Sandwich, where, upon an elevated position,
;we beheld the horrible spectacle of two men
hanging in gibbets.

104 JOURNAL OF A YISIT TO

The white settlements, on both the AmericaQ
and British shores of the Detroit, are so near
together, that the farms resemble villages, j
Nearly opposite Sandwich is Detroit, which we
leached about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, andl
proceeded to the boarding house of the widows'
Harrison, to whom we had been recommended,,
having come eighteen miles. In the evening,.
Charles Jewett and several others came to see
us ; they told us they had heard of the arrival of
some strangers, aad expected we were from the
interior of the United States ; that for a lon«
time they had received no account from the seat
of government, and were anxious to hear the,
news. Having an open letter fi'om the Secre-
tary of War, directed to Charles Jewett, and to
the commanding officer at Detroit, we embraced
the opportunity to pr6sent it. The letter was as
follows :

^^War Department, February 20tli, 1S04.

" Gentlemen, — This will be handed you by,
Joel Wright, Greorge Ellieott, and Gerard Hop-
kins. They are amongst the most respectable
members of the Society of Friends in Maryland.
Their object is to visit some of the western In-
dians, for the laudable purpose of encouraging
and aiding them in the introduction of agricul-
ture and other improvements essential to the
happiness of the red people. They are men of
science^ information and property, and are ea-.

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 105

titled to tlie civilities and attention of all good
men. You will please to afford them every aid,
and should they wish to cross the lake from De-
troit to Niagara, and a public vessel being about
to sail for that place, accommodations should be
afforded them free of expense, and letters of in-
jtroduction given them to Major Porter.
^' I am respectfully

" Your humble servant,

'' H. Deareorn.
'"To the Commanding Officer at Detroit, and Charles
I Jewett, Esq., Indian Agent."

Charles Jewett received us with great civility,
and has invited us to dine with him to-morrow,
jto which we have consented.
I 4th month 27th. This morning Charles
Jewett again called upon us, and at his request
we accompaaied him to the garrison, and
were introduced to the commanding officer,
Major Pike, who appears to be a genteel and
clever old man. He informed us that a public
vessel would sail for Niagara, about the first of
the ensuing month, and recommended us very
strongly to take passage in her, in preference to
any other vessel, she being in good order, and
under the management of mariners well ac-
quainted with the lake. This vessel is under his
superintendence.

Agreeably to engagement, we dined to-day with
Charles Jewett. The revenue officer for the port
of Detroit, Captain Ernest, also diued with us,

106 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

28th. This day we dined with Major Pike, in
compliance with an invitation which he gave us
yesterday. He treated us with great respect and
attention, and appeared to be pleased with our
company. New Jersey being the place of his
nativity, he has considerable knowledge of our
Society. In the course of conversation he in-
quired after Peter Yarnall, and says that Peter
and himself were in the same military company
during the Revolutionary war ; he had not heard
of his death.

The following circumstance, as related by him,
making at the time considerable impression upon
me, I have thought proper to record it. He told
us that several officers with Peter and himself
were lodging together; that one night Peter
alarmed them all with loud screams to such a de-
gree that on first awaking he supposed the enemy
had fallen upon their army with bayonets. Peter
was on his feet, and appeared to be awake. They
spoke to him repeatedly, and endeavored to ap-
proach him, but every advance they made in-
creased his alarm. Finally he recovered himself
and became composed, and for several days after-
wards, instead of satisfying their inquiries, ap-
peared to be sunk in distress and gloom. He
afterwards told them he considered his alarm as
a warning to him, and that his fright arose from
a plain representation of the devil, come to take
him off. Peter in a short time left the army^ ;
and (said the Major) I always believed that his !

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 107

reformation had its rise from that circumstance.

28th. This clay we dined with Robert Monroe,
factor of the United States in the Indian Depart-
ment. At his table we met our friend Charles
Jewett, the revenue officer before named, Judge
Henry and Lawyer Sibley.

29th. This day we dined with Frederick
Bates, at his lodgings. He is descended from
Friends, and discovers great partiality for our
company. He is a young man of superior under-
standing, and is much esteemed in Detroit. I
feel and fear for the situation of this young
ban. It is not in human nature to support good
principles unblemished, when left alone to stem
the torrent of fashionable and fascinating vices.
Detroit is a place of great corruption.

30th. This day we rode nine miles up the

tiver Detroit to take a view of Lake St. Clair.
?his lake is thirty miles in length, and twenty
biiles in width. We had a beautiful prospect of
it, from a commanding situation. I ought to
lave mentioned that bordering the river, the
Tfhole distance from Detroit to the lake, the land
s handsomely improved. The houses are so
[lear each other that the margin of the river
looks like a village. These farms are grants
nade by the French government nearly a cen-
ury ago. They uniformly lie in parallelograms
jontaining about one hundred acres. Added to
iolerable dwelHng houses are the handsomest
ipple orchards I ever saw. The extraordinary

108 JOURNAL OP A VISIT TO

heathfulaess of the trees, indicates a suitableneaj
of climate or soil, or both.

The pear trees also are very large and handj
some ; but their cherry and peach trees do no
thrive well, the climate being too cold for themij

In this little excursion we were accompanied
by Frederick Bates, and returned in time to comij
ply with an invitation we had received to din.
with Doctor Davis. Major Pike, and severa;
others, dined with us.

5th month 1st. ^e this day dined with D?
Wilkinson, who removed from the lower part c^
the State of Maryland. Were we as fond
eating and drinking as the people of Detroit aj
pear to be, it would be no marvel if we shoul
forget our homes, and think ourselves well enoug
entertained where we are ; but whilst we hav
been under an apparent necessity of yielding 1
the invitations we have received during (shall
say?) our imprisonment here, we know we ha-^
been very anxious for the time to arrive, in whic
we may embark homewards, and hope that tit
morrow morning the vessel for which we ha\
been waiting will sail.

2d. This morning, wind and weather appea
ing to permit, we were informed that at 9 o'cloc
the vessel would sail. We accordingly bac
farewell to our acquaintance, and went on boar
the United States brig called the John Adami
commanded by Commodore Brevoort. Aboutt
o'clock sail was hoisted, and we proceeded

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 109

the mouth of the river Detroit, when night com-
ing on, and the wind heing unfavorable, we
; anchored near the British shore, and opposite to
the town of Maiden.

3d. Weighed anchor. Winds light and op-
posite ; anchored again about 8 o'clock in the
evening, near an island called the Middle Sister.

4th. About 4 o'clock this morning again
weighed anchor, and a calm coming on about 10
o'clock, we anchored again near Middle Ba?s
Island, where we were confined the remainder
of the day. In the afternoon some of us amused
ourselves with fishing. The small boat was
rowed by several hands around the island, whilst
we cast our lines, about thirty feet in length, hav-
ing hooks baited with the skin of pork and
covered in part with a piece of red cloth. In a
short time we caught upwards of five dozen
black bass, justly esteemed an excellent fish, and
weighing from four to six pounds. The lake
water is so clear, that fish can be seen from
twelve to fifteen feet below the surfiice. Many
of the fish we caught, we saw advancing to our
hooks.

5th. At 4 o'clock this morning again hoisted
sail. Weather windy, attended with rain. We
had not proceeded far before a head wind opposed
our sailing, and we cast anchor at an island
called Middle Island. At 4 o'clock in the after-
noon a heavy rain and thunder gust coming on,
it was deemed safest to return back a few leagues
10

110 JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

to a harbor called Put-in-Bay, where we lay dur-
ing the vAglit.

6th. This morning at 6 o'clock we again
hoisted sail ; wind and weather clear and pleasant.
"\Ye are now, 9 o'cl ck at night, under sail.

7th. Have been under sail last night and this-
day until evening, when we cast anchor opposite
to Presqueile, for the purpose of landing a part of
our passengers,

8th. During last night lay at Presqueile, and
this morning put on shore the passengers bound
for that place, after which, the wind heading us,
we lay at anchor the rest of the day. Presqueile
is a town on the American side of the lake, con-
taining about forty houses, several of which are
stores. A small garrison of the United States is
stationed here.

9th. About 10 o'clock last night, a light favor-
able breeze sprung up, which encouraged us to
proceed. The vessel has been all night and du-
ring the day under sail. At 8 o'clock in the;
evening we dropped anchor, within four miles off
Niagara river. Our commander says that the
channel leading into the harbor, is rocky and
dangerous, and deems it imprudent to attempt
an entrance at night.

It is a pleasing reflection, that we are so near
to the end of our passage over the lake; and we
are gladdened with the hope, that we shall shortly
prosecute the remainder of our juurney over
terra firma, where we shall not be subject to

THE WESTERN INDIANS. Ill

the impeditEents of opposing winds, and be freed
from the dangers of storms. Lake Erie is a
very beautiful body of water, 30w miles in
length and generally from 50 to 60 in width.
Much of the distance we have sailed has been out
of sight of land. The water of the lake appears
to be of a beautiful deep green color, but when
taken up in a glass vessel, is to. be admired for
its transparency. I think it is, without exception,
the sweetest water I ever drank.

10th. At 4 o'clock this morning our anchor
was again hoisted, and in about half an hour we
were safely moored at Fort Erie. This is a small
fort on the Canadian shore of the lake, garrison-
ed by the British. Immediately on our arrival,
we set out on foot for Buffalo, distant 5 miles, a
town situated at the junction of Buffalo Creek
with Lake Erie, and near the commencement of
the outlet of the lake, commonly called Niagara
river. The object of this excursion was to ob-
tain a conveyance across the country to the near-
est line of public stages. We were successful in
an application to one of the inhabitants, who
agreed to furnish us with a light wagon, to be
in readiness two day's hence. Here we met with
Erasmus Granger, an agent of the United States,
in the Indian Department. We had conversa-
tion wi:h him at considerable length on Indian
affairs. He tells us that many individuals
amongst the Indians of his district, (who are of

112 JOURNAL OP A VISIT TO

the Six jSTations,) are turning their attention to
agriculture.

About mid-day we returned in a small boat to
our vessel. After dining on board, we went on
shore at Fort Erie, and joined by our Commodore
and Lieutenant Cox, a passenger with us from
Detroit, we engaged a light wagon to return with
us at 4 o'clook to-morrow morning, to view the
Falls of Niagara, distant about eighteen miles. We
extended our walk for a considerable distance
along the shore of Lake Erie; it is here composed
of a solid body of limestone, beautifully marbled.

11th. This morning we sat out for the Falls
of Niagara ; our road passed near the margin of
Niagara river, from the lake to the Falls, a dis-
tance of 18 miles, which afforded us a view
both of the river, and of the adjacent improve-
ments. The land is generally under cultivation,
and is tolerably improved. The soil appears
rather cold and stiff; but some of the meadows
are nearly equal to the best 1 ever saw ; some of
the farms belong to members of our society, and;
we are told that there is a meeting of Friends
not far distant fron\ the Falls. Considerable
emigrations are making from the United States,
to this as well as other parts of Upper Canada,
owing to the very advantageous terms upom
which the British Government dispose of the
land, being scarcely removed from a gift.

We reached a Canadian town called Chippewa,,
to breakfast, after which we walked to the Falls,,

THE WESTERN INDIANS 113

a distance of two miles. This was a walk, of
wliicli every step seemed to increase curiosity
and surprise. Oar attention was soon arrested
by a cloud which hangs perpetually over the
Falls for the height of 600 feet^ arising from the
dashing of the waters.

As we advanced to the Falls the solid earth
and rocks shook, or seemed to shake, under our
feet, whilst the roar of the waters so overpowered
every other sound that, notwithstanding we were
tete-a-tete, it was necessary to raise the voico to
a very loud key in order to be heard. Mean-
while the cloud above mentioned issued contin-
ually in what we sometimes hear called a Scotch
mist.

There is a common saying, " Those who know
no danger, fear none." This was our case on re-
turning to the extremity of an overjutting rock,
called Table Rock, opposite to the great cataract,
in order to gratify our curiosity, in a peep down
the precipice which is more than 150 feet per-
pendicular. In passing afterwards a short dis-
tance below this rock, we were alarmed with the
discovery, that the place on which we had stood
was but a thin shell, the Falls having under-
mined the rock for many feet. Proceeding a
little lower down the Falls, we again found that
our second stand was almost as baseless. We
however supposed that the danger was not equal
to our apprehensions, as the names of great num-
bers of visitors were cut in these rocks, near their
10*

11-t JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

extremities. I shall not attempt to give a par-
ticular description of the Falls of Niagara, which
has been done by persons who have visited them^
for the especial purpose of gratifying the curious.
After we had gratified our curiosity in a view of
them we returned to Fort Erie, and after
night were rowed in a small boat to Buffalo town,
in order to be in readiness for setting out home-
ward in the morning.

12th. The person who has engaged to take us
on our journey this morning has disappointed us.
The circumstance is a trial, as we have become
very anxious to reach our homes. Being at lei-
sure we accompanied the Indian agent in a ride,
four miles above Buffalo Creek^ to an Indian vil-
lage of the Senecas, one of the tribes of the Sis
Nations.

They are making considerable progress in
agriculture, live in tolerable log houses, and have
a number of cattle, horses and hogs. We saw
many of them at work ; they were preparing the
ground for the plough by rolling logs, taking up
stumps, &c.

We also saw among them a large plough at
work, drawn by three yoke of oxen, and attended
by three Indians. They all appeared to be very
merry, and to be pleased with our visit. The
land upon which these Indians are settled is of
a superior quality. We saw amongst them Red
Jacket, Farmers Brother, and several other dis-
tinguished Chiefs. Many of these Indians wor-

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 115

in their ears, and round their necks, strung upon
strings, several descriptions of Lake shells. Here
we met with Saccarissa, a principal chief of the
Tuscarora tribe. He has come for the purpose
I of being assisted by the agent in vesting fifteen
thousand dollars in the purchase of land from the
Holland Land Company. They have greatly de-
clined hunting, and are becoming agriculturists.
' The Tuscarora Indians removed from North Caro-
lina many years ago, and were received into the
then Five Nations, or Iroquois Indians, who gave
jthem a small tract of country, which they now
I think wants enlarging. It is a fact, that the
iSix Nations have stock in the Bank of the
United States to the amount of more than one
hundred thousand dollars, from which they draw
regular dividends. This is money which they
received some years ago from our Government
for the sale of their lands.

The Chiefs and principal people took the advice
of General Washington, in making bank stock of
their money.

13th. This morning we set out from Buffalo
in a farm wagon drawn by two horses, and tra-
I veiled 32 miles through a rough and inferior
country.

14th. Proceeded 23 miles and reached Bata-
via, a new town, handsomely situated. We have
had a muddy, disagreeable road, through a coun-
try too flat to be desirable. The land is pretty
rich, and very heavily timbered. We have been

116 A JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO

all day followed by millions of mosquitoes;
crossed a handsome stream called the Tantawan-
tae, and V7ere told at the Ford that a little dis-
tance above us 120 rattle snakes lay dead. These
snakes were killed by some fishermen with their
spears, the warm weather having brought them
out of their dens. People are making settle-^
ments here very rapidly.

15th. Travelled 33 miles, and lodged at War-
ner's Tavern. The land for the most part tol-
erable. The New England people are making
many handsome settlements here. They have
built fine farm houses, planted handsome or-
chards, and emigration is increasing. The stone'
is mostly limestone. We passed for several miles
over a tract covered with limestone, which con-
tained a great variety of curious marine shells.
The country affords many fine springs; one
which we passed contains water sufficient to turn
a mill. We also passed through a large Indian
town, near the Genesee river^ and to-day crossed
that river, where its width is about 100 feet.

16th. At 6 o'clock this morning we again
proceeded ; passed near Hemlock lake, and
Honey lake, of which the waters empty into the
Genesee river. The face of the country is gen-
erally tolerable, but stony. We to-day also saw |
the same appearances of marine shells as yesterday.
About mid-day we reached the town of Canan*
daigua ; situated upon a lake of that name, about
20 miles in lengthy and from one to two

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 117

miles in width; its waters empty into Lake
; Ontario. Tbe improvements on this tract are
astonishingly handsome for a new country, par-
ticularly through a settlement called Bloomfield.
At Canandaigua, we exchanged a rough wagon,
for the public stage, a circumstance additionally
gratifying to us from the hope that we shall now
proceed homewards with expedition. At 2 o'clock
set out in the stage, and reached the town of
Geneva where we lodged. This is a handsome
new town situated upon Seneca lake, a body of
water forty miles in length, and from three to
three and half miles in width.

17th. Travelled about fifty miles and lodged
at the village of Onandagua. On our way we
reached a handsome wooden bridge one mile in
length, over Cayuga Lake.

18th. Travelled fifty miles to the handsome
town of Utica, situated on the Mohawk river.
Passed near Oneida Lake, and through a large
settlement of Indians of the Oneida tribe. Their
town consists of about seven hundred Indians.
They have good houses, a meeting house, barns
and orchards. Their land is under cultivation,
is level, and appears to be of good quality. We
saw many of them in their fields preparing for
corn. These Indians have been greatly aided in
igriculture, by the Friends of Philadelphia.

19th. This morning we again proceeded, and
at night lodged at a small village called George-
town, making a distance of fifty miles. Our road

118 A JOURNAL OP A VISIT TO

led us the whole distance along the Mohawk;
river.

The Bottoms along this river are called the'
German Flats, and are very rich and handsome.
They were settled many years ago by the Germans, .
We stopped to view the Falls in the river, where :
the navigation is made easy by locks ; a very
romantic place, there being limestone rock oft
enormous size, both in the water and upon the:
hills. In proceeding along the bottoms of thiS'
river there are many marks which indicate that'
at some period of time there was a vast body oft'
water covering these Flats. The Flats are gen--
erally from half a mile to a mile in width ; their
margins are a continuation of hills on each side,,
which are from two to three hundred feet in i
height; the surface of the hills show stones of
great size, which are washed into all shapes;
added to this, the hills discover evident appear-
ances of those indentures common to river shores.

20th. Again prosecuted our journey, passing
along the Mohawk river to the town of Schen--
ectady, where we crossed the river, and in the!
evening reached the town of Albany upon the
North river, making a distance of forty eight
miles. I cannot but observe here, that in pro-
ceeding along the Mohawk river to-day, we came
to the end of those high chains of hills mention-
ed yesterday, where the country made quite a
level appearance ; so that we were puzzled to
conjecture what became of the earth which had:

THE WESTERN INDIANS. 119

enclosed so great a body of water, as the bills
seem to declare once washed their summits. I
may add, in humble confession, that in the course
ofour long journey, I have had frequent occasions
to acknowledge, in a view of those extraordinary
and inexplicable natural curiosities, which have
fallen under our observation, the truth of that
excellent sentiment of a religious poet,

" Nature is wrapt up,
In tenfold night, from reason's keenest eye." — Young.

Between Schenectady and Albany the coun-
try is the poorest 1 ever saw. The surface is a
body of sand, producing scarcely a tree. Surely
one of Churchill's lines, relative to a part of
Scotland, may with propriety be applied to this
tract,

" Here half starved spiders feed on half starved flies."

21pt. Having concluded to go by water from
Albany to New York, at 3 o'clock this afternoon,
we set sail, and at six o'clock in the evening of
the 23d reached New York, a distance of one
hundred and sixty miles.

24th. At 8 o'clock this morning, we took
public stage, and passing through the city of
Philadelphia, reached Baltimore on First-day
the 27th of 5th month, 1804. Here reader, allow
me to add I was gladdened with the favor of being
permitted safely to return to my home, and

120 THE WESTERN INDIANS.

grateful for the additional blessing of finding mj
dear wife and infant children all well.

We were absent on this visit three months
and four days, and travelled about two thousanc:
miles.

APPENDIX.

Whilst engaged in taking a copy of the pre-
cedinjr journal, I have been induced to examine
the manuscripts left by the late George Ellicott,
of Ellicott's Mills, the companion in this em-
bassy of the author of the narrative, to discover
if I could find amongst them any matter concern-
ing the Indians, and of the care manifested by
the Friends of Baltimore Yearly Meeting on
their behalf. In the course of this investigation
a variety of material on the subjects mentioned
has presented, from which I have gleaned some
fragments, which, as they promise to be inter-
esting to the readers of the present day, are
herewith presented.

The fir.*t extracts are from the unpublished
account of a journey to Upper Sandusky, in 1799,
performed by some of the members of the In-
dian Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting,
and written by George Ellicott. He appears
to have considered that any narrative of the
kind should be preceded by information con-
cerning the Indians, as they were in former
years ; and had therefore prepared a preface to
this work, compiled from the writings of Jeffer-
son, and other authorities, from which the fol-
lowing is taken : T.

122 ArPENDIX.

" When the first effectual settlement was
inade in Virginia,* which was in the year 1607
the country from the sea coast to the mountains,
and from the Potomac to the most southern
waters of James river, was occupied by upwards
of forty different tribes of Indians. Of these,
the Powhatans, the Mannahoacs, and Mona-
cans, were the most powerful. Those between!
the falls of the rivers and the mountains were(
divided into two confederacies ; the tribes in-
habiting; the head waters of the Potomac and
Rappahannock being attached to the Manna-
hoars, and those on the upper part of James
river to the Monacans. But the Monacans and
their friends were in amity with the Mannahoars
and their friends, and waged joint and perpetual
war against the Powhatans. We are told that
the Powhatans, Mannahoacs, and Monacans.
spoke languages so radically different, that in-
terpreters were necessary when they transacted
business. Hence we may conjecture that this
was not the case between all the tribes, and prob-
ably that each spoke the language of the natioDi
to which it was attached, which is known tc
have been the case in many particular instances.
Very possibly there may have been anciently
three different stocks, each of which multiplying
in a long course of time, had separated into sc
many little societies. This practice results from

*See Jefl'erson's Notes on Viro-inia.

APPENDIX. 123

the circumstance of their never having submitted
themselves to any hiws, any coercive power, or
any shadow of government. Their only con-
trasts are their manners, and that moral sense of
right and wrong which, like the sense of tasting
and feeling in every man, makes a part of his
nature. An offence against these is punished
by contempt, by exclusion from society, or, where
the case is serious, as that of murder, by the in-
dividuals whom it concerns. Imperfect as this spe-
cies of coercion may seem, crimes are very rare
amongst them, insomuch that were it made a ques-
tion whether no law, as among the native Ameri-
cans, or too much law, asamongthe civilized Euro-
peans, submits men to the greatest evil ; one who
has seen both conditions of existence would pro-
nounce it to be the last, and that the sheep are
happier of themselves, than under the care of
wolves. It will be said that great societies can-
not exist without the aid of government. The
savages therefore break themselves into small
ones. The territories of the Powhatan confede-
racy south of the Potomac, comprehended about
8000 square miles, 30 tribes, and 2400 hundred
warriors. Captain Smith tells us. that within
60 miles of Jamestown were 5000 people, of
whom 1500 were warriors. From this we find
the proportion of their warriors to their whole
inhabitants was as 3 to 10. The Powhatan
confederacy then would consist of about 8,000
inhabitants, which was one for every square

124 APPENDIX.

mile ; being about the twentieth part of om
present population in the same territory, and thei
hundredth of that of the British Islands. The!
numbers of some of them are stated as thejj
were in the year 1669, when an attempt was
made by the Assembly to enumerate them.i
Probably the enumeration is imperfect, and ini
some measure conjectural, and that a furtheii
search into the records would furnish many more
particulars. What would be the melancholy
sequel of their history, may, however, be
augured from the census of 1669, by which W€(
discover that the tribes therein mentioned and
enumerated, were, in the space of 62 years re-
duced to about one-third of their former number
Spirituous liquors, the small pox, war, and am
abridgment of territory, to a people who lived
principally on the spontaneous productions oi
nature, had committed great havoc among them.
That the lauds of this country (Virginia,) were
taken from them by conquest, is not so general
a truth as is supposed. We find in our histo-i
lies and records, repeated proofs of purchase!
which cover a considerable part of the lowen
country, and many more would doubtless be
found on further search. The upper country,
we know, has been acquired altogether by pur-
chases made in the mo>st unexceptionable form,
westward of all these tribes, beyond the moun-
tains, and extending to the great lakes on the
Massawomics. a most powerful confederacy, who

APPENDIX. 125

harassed unremittingly the Powhatans and Man-
naboacs. These were probably the ancestors
of the tribes known at present by the name
of the Six Nations. Very little can now be dis-
covered of the subsequent history of these tribes
severally. The Chickalaminies removed about
1661 to Mattapony river. Their chief, with one
of each of the tribes of the Pamunkies and Mat-
tahonys, attended the meeting at Albany, Iq
1685 ; this seems to be the last chapter in their
history. The Monacans and their friends, better
known latterly by the name of Tuscaroras, were
probably connected with the Massawomics, or
Five Nations; for though we are told that their
languages were so different that the interven-
tion of interpreters was necessary between them,
yet we also learn that the Erigas, a nation for-
merly inhabiting the Ohio, were of the same
original stock with the Five Nations, and that
they partook also of the Tuscarora language.
Their dialects might, by long separation, have
become so unlike as to be unintelligible to each
other. We know, that in 1712, the Five Na-
tions received the Tuscaroras in their confede-
racy, and made them the Sixth Nation. All the
nations of Indians in North America, lived in
the hunter's state, and depended for subsistence
on hunting, fishing, and the spontaneous fruits
of the earth, and a kind of grain, which was
planted and gathered by the women, and is now
known by the name of Indian corn. Long po-
ll*

126 APPENDIX.

tatoes, pumpkins, and squashes of various kinds .
were also found in use among them. They had
no flocks, herds, or tamed animals of any kind, j
Their government a kind of patriarchal confede-l
racy. Every town or family has a chief, who is
distinguished by a particular title, and whom we
commonly call " Sachem." The several towns
or families that compose the tribes have a chief
who presides over it, and the several tribes com-
posing a nation have a chief who presides over
the whole nation. Those chiefs are generally
men advanced in age, and distinguished for their
prudence and abilities in council ; the matters
which merely regard a town or family, are settled
by the chief and principal men of the town,
those which regard a tribe, such as the appoint-
ment of head warriors or captains, and settling
differences between tribes and families, are reg-
ulated at a meeting of the chiefs from the differ-
ent towns ; and those which regard the whole
nation, such as making war, concluding peace, or
forming alliances with the neighboring nations,
are deliberated and determined in a national
council, composed of the chiefs of the tribes, at-
tended by their head warriors, and a number of
chiefs from the towns, who are his counsellors.
In every town, there is a council house, where
the chiefs and men of the town assemble when
occasion requires, and consult what is proper to
be done. Every tribe has a fixed place for the
chief of the towns to meet and consult on the

APPENDIX. 127

business of the tribe. And in every nation,
there is what they call the central council house,
or council fire, where the chiefs of the several
tribes, with the principal warriors, convene to
consult and determine on their national affairs.
When any matter is proposed in the national
council, it is common for the chiefs of the seve-
ral tribes to consult thereon apart with their
counsellors,andwhen they have agreed, to deliver
the opinion of the tribe at the national council.
And as their government seems to rest wholly
on persuasion, they endeavor by mutual conces-
sions to obtain unanimity. Such is the govern-
ment that still exists among the Indian nations
bordering on the United States. To the north-
ward of these, there was another powerful nation,
which occupied the country from the head of
the Chesapeake Bay, up to the Kittatinny
mountain, and as far eastward as Connecticut
river, comprehending that part of New York,
which lies between the Highlands and the ocean.
All the State of New Jersey, that part of Penn-
sylvania which is watered below the range of
Kittatinny Mountains, by the rivers or streams
falling into the Delaware, and the County of
New Castle, in the State of Delaware as far as
Duck Creek. It is to be observed that nations
of Indians distinguish their countries one from
i another, by natural boundaries, such as ranges
of mountains or streams of water. But as the
I heads of rivers frequently interlock or approach

128 APPENDIX,

near to each other, as those who live upon a stream ,
claim the country watered by it, they often en-
croached on each other, and this was a constant:
source of war between the different nations.

The nation occupying the tract of country
last described, called themselves Lenapi, and
among us they are better known as Delawares ]
this nation consisted of five tribes, who all spoke
one language ; first, the Chihohocki, who dwelt
on the west side of the river, now called Dela-
ware, a name given to it by Lord De-la- War.
who put into it on his passage from Virginiai
but which was called by the Indians, Chicbo
hocki. Second, the Wanami, who inhabited th(
country called New Jersey, from the Raritan tc
the sea. Third, the Munsey, who dwelt on th(
upper streams of the Delaware, from the Kitta
tinny mountains down to the Lehigh or westerr
branch of the Delaware and Hudson rivers, frou
the Kittatinny down to the Raritan. Fifth, th»
Mahicon or Mahattan, who occupied Staten Isl
and, York Island, (which, from its being the prin
cipal seat of their residence, was formerly callec
Wahattan.) Long Island, and that part of N. Yorl
and Connecticut, which lies between Counecticu
and Hudson rivers, from the highlands, which i
a continuance of the Kittatinny ridge down t(
the sound. The nation had a close allianci
with the Shawanese, who lived on the Susque
banna and to the westward of that river, as far a
the Alleghany mountains, and carried on a lon|

APPENDIX. 129

war with another powerful nation of Indians,
who lived to the north of them, between the
Kittatinny mountains, or highlands, and Lake
Ontario, and who call themselves Mingoes, and
are called by the French writers, Iroquois, by
the English, Five Nations, and by the Indians to
the southward, with whom they were at war,
Massawomics ; this war was carrying on in its
greatest fury, when Captain Smith first arrived
in Virginia. The Mingo warriors had pene-
trated down the Susquehanna to the mouth of
it. The Mingo nation consisted of fi.ve tribes ;
three, who are called the Elder, to wit : the
Senecas, who live to the west, the Mohawks, to
the east, and the Onondagoes between them;
, and two, who are called the younger tribes,
namely, the Cayugas and Oneidas. All these
tribes spoke one language, and were thus united
in a close confederacy, and occupied that tract
of country from the last end of Lake Erie to
Lake Champlain, and from the Kittatinny and
highlands to the Lake Ontario and the river
St. Lawrence. This nation turned their arms
against the Lenapi, and as this war was long
and doubtful, they, in the course of it, not only
exerted their whole force, but put in practice
every measure which prudence or policy could
devise to bring it to a successful issue. For
this purpose they bent their course down the
Susquehanna, warring with the Indians in their
I way, and having penetrated as far as the mouth

130 APPENDIX.

of it, they, by the terror of their arms, engagei
a nation, known by the name of the Nanticockss
Coneys and Lutetocs, and who lived betweer
Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, and bordering
on the territory of Chihohocki, to enter into ar
alliance with them; they also formed an allianc
with the Monahans, and stimulated them t(
war with the Lenapi, and their confederates
At the same time the Mohawks carried on i
furious war down the Hudson against the Mo
hiccons and river Indians, and compelled then
to purchase a temporary and precarious peace
by each acknowledging them to be their supe
riors, and paying an annual tribute.

The Lenapi being surrounded with enemie
and hard pressed, and having lost many of thei
warriorSj were compelled at last to sue for peace
"which was granted them on the condition tha
they should put themselves under the protectioi
of the Mingoes, confine themselves to raising
corDj hunting for the subsistence of their fami
lies, and no longer have the power of makin<
war.

This is what the Indians call making then
women. Under this condition the Lenapis wer(
when William Penn first arrived, and began tb
settlement of Pennsylvania in the year 1682.

In Sept. 1700, the Indians residing on th(
Susquehanna, granted to William Penn all thei
lauds on both sides of the river. The Indian;
living on the Susquehanna and Potomac anc

r APPENDIX. 131

the Shawanese, entered into articles of agreement
with Wm. Penn, by which^ on certain conditions
of peaceable and friendly behaviour, they were
permitted to settle about the tead of Potomac,
in Pennsylvania. The Conestoga chiefs, also,
in 1701, ratified the grant of the Susquehanna
Indians made the preceding year of 1700. Wm.
Penn obtained from the Sachems of the country
a confirmation of grants made by former Indians
of the lands from Duck Creek to the mountains,
and from the Delaware to the mountains, and
from the Delaware to the Susquehanna; in this
deed the Sachems declared that they had seen
land heard read divers prior deeds which had
tbeen given to Wm. Penn by former chiefs.
, In the year 1672, Gov. Lovelace, of New
jYork, by proclamation, ordered that four white
(grains or beads, and three black ones shall pass
for a penny or stiver ; this proclamation was
published at Albany, Esopus, Delaware, Long
[Island, and at the ports adjacent; and that
wampum was a passing medium of the country
at that time.

A treaty was entered into at the mouth of
the Great Miami, between the United States and
the Shawanese Nation, in the year 1786^ by
iwhich the United States do allot them lands
[with their territory to live and hunt upon. Be-
iginning at the south line of the lands allotted
to the Wyandots and Delawares, at the place
where the main of the Great Miami and of the

132 APPENDIX.

Ohio intersects said line, then down the Miaai
to the forks of that river below the old for
taken by the French in 1752, thence due wes
to the river De-la-Panse ; thence down that rive
to the Wabash, beyond which line none of th
people or citizens of the United States shal
settle or disturb the Shawanese in their settle
ment and possessions; and the Shawanese d
relinquish to the United States all title the
ever had to lands, east, west, and south, of th
east, west, and south of lines before described
Signed by G. Clark, Richard Butler, Saml. H
Parsons, and ei^ht Indians, and witnessed by
number of Indians and whites. The India:,
witnesses were of the Delaware and Wyando
nations ; Isaac Zane (a Wyandot), and the Cram
of the Wyandots are among them."

The first movement made by the Society c
Friends of Baltimore Yearly Meeting for th
benefit of the Indians, after the conclusion o
the Revolutionary war, was commenced abou
one year subsequent to the treaty of G-renville
whereby a peace had been concluded betweei
the United States and the hostile tribes, northi
west of the river Ohio. For many years thosi
Indians had proved themselves to be the for{
midable enemies of the white emigrants wh
settled near them, and of the armies of th
United States, sent out to compel them to subl
mit to the occupation of a territory which the;
continued to regard as their own property. HaT

APPENDIX. 133

ing been greatly improved in warlike discipline,
and in the use of European firearms, by serving
under the French commanders in former wars,
they adhered to any pacific agreements no longrr
than their fears or their interests restrained
them ; and rested in the determination never to
abandon their lands northwest of the Ohio river.
They had defeated General Harmer, with the
loss of the greater part of his army, on the banks
of the St. Joseph's river in 1791; and an ex-
pedition sent against them shortly after, under
the command of General St. Clair, was com-
pletely routed. In this engagement the Little
Turtle,* so often alluded to in the foregoing
pages, was the commander-in-chief of the Indian
forces, and displayed feelings of humanity to-
wards his retreating foes, of which few exam-
ples have been furnished in the history of Indian
warfare, and which reflects honor on his cha-
racter.

On beholding the white soldiers fleeing before
the exasperated Indians, and at every moment
cut down by the weight of their tomahawks, his
heart revolted at the sight, and ascending an
eminence, he gave the singular cry, which com-
manded his men to cease from further pursuit
and return to their camps ; he also sent out mes-
sengers to inform them, wherever scattered,
that " they must be satisfied with the carnagC;

* Michikiniqua, was the Indian name of this chief.
12

134 APPENDIX.

having killed enough. " By this effort on hisi
part many lives were spared.

After this defeat, so unlooked for by the i
United States, General Wayne, who had sue-'
ceeded General St. Clair, arrived with his army
upon the location where that officer had been
defeated, in the 9th month, (Sept.) 1793, and
immediately built Fort Wayne. The next year
he brought the Indians to a decisive engage-
ment in the vicinity, in which they were over-
thrown with great slaughter. This humiliation
lessened their high estimate of their own strength
and disposed them to peace, and a treaty was
concluded between them and General Wayne,
who acted as a commissioner of the United
States, at Grenville, (1794), by which the tribes
northwest of the river Ohio, gave up the lands
so long the object of contention, and accepting
a reservation in the neighborhood of the Lakes,
came under the protection of the United States,
upon terms at that time considered mutually
satisfactory and beneficial.

The Little Turtle, who appears lo have had a
just idea of the importance of the lands about
to be ceded to our government, remained for a
long time inflexible, resolved upon procuring
more favorable conditions. He was deeply at-
tached to the country which liad been his birth-
place, and in common with all his brethren
considered it belonged to the Indians by right
of possession from the Great Spirit^ who, they

APPENDIX. 135

believed J after he had made the earth, sun,
moon and stars, bad placed the red man on this
continent; and bestowed it upon him and his
children. He knew also, that the whole region
around was made dear to them by every cher-
ished remembrance ; their recollections of the
happy abode of the red people therein for many
generations before the coming of the white men
to settle amongst them; as connected also with
the sports and pastimes of their youth, and with
the enjoyments of their more manly pursuits in
maturer years, and moreover as containing the
graves and other monuments of their fathers.
These recollections were all quickened and in-
creased in importance by the knowledge that, in
relinquishing the possession of this fine territory,
they yielded up forests filled with herds of deer,
and other game which, by the addition of the
fruits of their grounds, rich and fertile almost
without precedent, gave them, even with their
rude mode of tillage, an ample supply for their
simple wants. He seemed also to be filled with
apprehension, lest when settled within the con-
fined boundaries, which were to be theirs by the
conditions of the treaty, that his countrymen
would be too slow in adopting the habits of civil-
ized life; and as the supply of wild animals must
soon be exhausted, would sufi"er many privations
in consequence of the change. As such were
his feelings, can any thoughtful person be as-
tonished at his resolutions ?

136 APPENDIX.

CoQvioced at last, that no alternative awaited
him^ he consented to sign the compact, remark-
ing to the officers present^ as he affixed his sig-
nature, " I have been the last to consent to this
agreement ; I will be the last to break it." He
remained true to his affirmation.

The following extracts are selected from a
brief account of the Indian Committee of Balti-
more Yearly Meeting, from its appointment in
1795 to the completion of the journey to Fort
Wayne, by Gr. T. Hopkins and George Ellicott,
in 1804.

The Yearly Meeting of Baltimore, and, also,
that of Philadelphia, appear to have directed
their attention almost simultaneously to an efifort
for the improvement of the Indians, and a com-
mittee was accordingly appointed in each of
these Yearly Meetings, in the autumn of 1795,
to take the subject under care,

" In Baltimore Yearly Meeting, held by ad-
journments, from the 12th day of the Tenth
month to the 16th of the same, inclusive, 1795,
Evan Thomas being clerk, and John Cox assist-
ant clerk, the exercise with regard to the In-
dians commenced by a weighty concern being
opened, concerning the difficulties and distress
to which the Indian natives of this land are sub-
ject; and many observations were made on the
kindness of their ancestors to the white people,
in the early settlement of this country, exciting
a deep consideration and enquiry, whether under

APPENDIX. 137

the influence of that exalted benevolence and
good will to men, (which our holy profession re-
quires;) anything remains for us to do to pro-
mote their welfare, their religious instruction,
knowledge of agriculture, and the useful me-
chanic arts. A solemnity and uniting calm
prevailing over the meeting, the further consid-
eration of the subject was referred to another
meeting, when the condition of the distressed
Indian natives being again revived, the senti-
ments of many brethren expressed, and a pre-
vailing sympathy felt, it appears to be the united
sense of this meeting, that it be recommended
to our Quarterly and Monthly Meetings to take
this concern into serious consideration, and open
subscriptions among our members for their relief
and the encouragement of school education^ hus-
bandr}', and the mechanic arts, amongst that
people. As it appears their situation demands
immediate attention, we hope a spirit of liber-
ality will be manifested;^ and those who find

" This call of Baltimore Yearly Meeting upon
its members "was promptly met. But the sums of
money, thus collected, do not appear to have been
often used to defray the travelling expenses of the
Friends appointed by the Indian Committee to visit
the tribes Xorth-west of the river Ohio. Those who
accepted such commissions prepared their own out-
fit and defrayed their own charges, except in one,
two, or at the most, three instances, where such an
expenditure would have been oppressive to the indi-
viduals concerned, on which occasions the necessary
funds were supplied by the committee.

138 APPENDIX.

freedom to subscribe, are desired to put their
contributions into the hands of the following
Friends, who are appointed to receive and
apply the same, in such manner as will best
answer the benevolent designs of this meeting,
carefully guarding against giving offence to gov-
ernment, viz : —

John Wilson, Joseph Bond,

John M'Kim, Joseph Beeson,

John Branen, John Butcher,

Evan Thomas, Benjamin Walker,

Allan Farquhar, Israel Janney,

John Love, David Branen,

Caleb Kirk, Gouldsmith Chaudlee,

Jonathan Wright, of Moses Dillon,

Monallen, Elias Ellicott,

Thomas Matthews, Nathan Heald,

David Greane."

The Friends above named composed the first
Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting for In-
dian Affairs, and their appointment was wit-
nessed by " John Wigam, a minister from North
Britain, who attended with a certificate from
Aberdeen Monthly Meeting, dated 17th of
Fourth month, 1794, and endorsed by the Half-
year's Meeting, held at Edinburgh, 28th of
same month ; and, also, a certificate from the
Yearly Meeting of Ministers and Elders, held in
London, dated 17th of Fifth month^ 1794, all

APPENDIX. 139

expressive of the unity of the Friends of those
meetings in his visit to these parts."

Deborah Darby and Rebecca Young also
produced certificates to the Yearly Meeting at
the same time, both from the ** Monthly Meet-
ing held at Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire, En-
gland, dated the 20th of Third month, 1793,
endorsed by the Yearly Meeting for Wales, held
at Hermarthan, the 25th of Fourth month, 1793.
Also certificates from the Yearly Meeting of
Ministers and Elders, held in London, the 18th
20th, 23d and 29th of Fifth month, 1793."
The company and labors of love of these
Friends from Great Britain, are acknowledged
to have been satisfactory to Baltimore Yearly
Meeting. * ^ They were partakers with them in
their exercises for the advancement of truth
and righteousness, and sympathized in all their
concerns.

The first important meeting of the Indian
Committee was held at Pipe creek, (where the
Meeting for Sufferings of Baltimore Yearly Meet-
ing then frequently convened,) the 22d of the
Fifth month, 1796; ten members being present.
The meeting was opened by the expression of a

* The records of Baltimore Yearly Meeting for 1796
contain minutes, almost precisely similar" to those
given above, of the appointment of the Indian Com-
mittee, and the presence of the Friends from Great
Britain at the time.

140 APPENDIX.

desire, by one of the committee, that every mem-
ber of the Society of Friends would be willing
to give sanction to the benevolent experiment
recommended by the Yearly Meeting ; a senti-
ment which was united with by all present.
These good resolutions were much strengthened
and encouraged by a letter they then opened
and read, from the Indian Committee of Philadel-
phia, dated Third month 24th, 1796, * which
set forth " that they had addressed their Quar-
terly and Monthly Meetings, and, also, Particular
Meetings, on the sufferings of the Indians, and
had sent them, with the minutes from PhiladeW
phia Yearly Meetings, extracts from diversi
speeches and letters from Indian Chiefs ; all
tending to spread useful information, and drav
the attention of our members to the situatioi
of these distressed people;" some of them had
also visited the President of the United Statesji
George Washington, (at the time in Philadel-I
phia,) and acquainted him with the views of our
religious Society, on behalf of the Indians. They
had, also, conferred with the Secretary of State,
who had manifested a desire to co-operate with
the Friends, in promoting the interests of the In-
dians. They had addressed a circular letter '"'to

* Rebecca Jones, in a letter to a son of Catherine
Phillips, of England, dated in the autumn of 1795.
mentions the appointment of-the Philadelphia Com-
mittee for Indian Affairs.

APPENDIX. 141

the different tribes of those called the Six Na-
tions," representing a desire " to assist them in
attaining a more comfortable, quiet, and peacea-
ble mode of life," and expressed an opinion
that the distresses and difficulties the Indians
labor under may, in a great degree, be attributed
to their propensity to the use of spirituous
liquors, introduced among them by traders and
evil-minded persons, and suggested a plan by
which the trade in liquors might be checked in
part, if not fully. They conclude : — " As, in
our attention to this concern, anything shall
arise that may be deemed useful and proper to
communicate, we mean to impart the same, de-
siring like care may rest with you, that what
may occur useful herein may be intimated to
your loving friends."

Addressed to John Brown, Elias Ellicott,
John M'Kim, and others, Members of the Com-
mittee of the Yearly Meeting of Maryland, on
the Indian Concern, &c.
Signed by

John Parrisb, William Savery,

Henry Drinker, John Hunt,

Benjamin Sweet, John Pierce,

Warner Mifflin, John Biddle,

Thomas Harrison, Joseph SaEsom,

John Elliott.

Any communication to the Philadelphia Com-
mittee on Indian Concerns, was to be addressed
13

142 APPENDIX.

to Thomas Wistar, Clerk of the Committee, who
had authority to call a meeting of their Sub-
Committee of fifteen Friends, on '' necessary
occasions."

The committee remained two days in session,
at Pipe Creek, deliberated on their benevolent;
purposes, addressed a reply to their Friends,
John Parrish and others, in Philadelphia,
through Thorn is Wistar, and *' appointed John
Brown, Jonathan W^right, Israel Janney, 3IoseS'
Dillon, and Joseph Bond, to pay a visit to the
Delawares, Sbawanese, Wyandots, and othei
nations northwest of the river Ohio, or to such
parts of them as they shall find freedom ; appro-
bation of the government being first obtained."
They also addressed a letter to the Indians tc
whom they were about to send a mission, in
which they informed them that the Quakers.
at their general religious council in Philadel-
phia, having agreed to take some of the '' Sis
Xations, who live in the North, by the hand,
our religious council held last fall in Baltimore
were also concerned for your welfare who residti
in the West/'

"They have tnld us to endeavor to speak
with you and get acquainted with your nations
For this purpose we have sent our beloved bro-
thers, John Brown, Israel Janney, Jonathan
Wright, Moses Dillon, and Joseph Bond, tc
5-hake hands with you in your tent, and to ask
if you wish to be instructed how to raise corm

APPENDIX. 143

and wheat for bread, on your own land, as we do ;
and to get meat at home without hunting, and
to weave blankets and clothes for yourselves,
your wives, and your children ; and also to en-
quire whether you wish to have your children
taught to read and write, and to do such other
things as will make you live comfortably under
the shade of the great tree of peace. We wish jou
to speak to us freely with the mouths of your na-
tions, and if it is agreeable to you we will talk to
you again. Farewell.

'' Signed on behalf of our aforesaid Rehgious
Council of the people called Quakers, the 23d
of 5th month, 1796, by

Allen Farquhar,
Benjamin Walker,
David Brown,
Elias Ellicott,
Caleb Kirk."

Previous to the departure of this delegation to
the Indian settlements, they were furnished
with permission for the purpose " by the
United States government, expressed in two let-
ters from the Secretary of State, and addressed
to Governor St. Clair, and to General Wayne,
being as follows.

Department of State,
Philadelphia, May 31s^, 1796.

''Sir, — Mr. Henry Drinker of this city, whose
respectable standing among the Society of

\

144 APPENDIX.

Friend?, and as our fellow citizen, you well know,
has informed me, that a delegation of five pru-
dent, judicious men, of religious character, have
been deputed by their brethren of that Society
in Maryland to visit the Indian Tribes N. West
of the river Ohio, for the purpose of learning.'
their situation and disposition, and thence tO;
judge of the practicability of introducing among'
them the simplest and most useful arts of civil
life. The result of their inquiries and observa-j
tions they are to report on their return to the
Society.

The approbation of the President has beem
asked and obtained. The object of this letter:
is to communicate the same to you, and request!
of you to afford the delegation all the protection
and countenance to which their respectable char-
acters and philanthropic views entitle them.
Most of the attempts at civilizing the Indians,
which I have heard of, have been preposterous.
We have aimed at teaching them religion and
the sciences, before we have taught them the
simple and essential labors of civil life.

I am very respectfully your most obedient
servant, Tim. Pickering."

The delegation proceeded to the Indian coun-
try, but found the chiefs, the hunters and war-
riors of the tribes with whom they desired toi
confer, much dispersed over the country, engaged!
in their various pursuits, and consequently were

f

APPENDIX 145

unable to hold any communication. with them
collectively ; under this disappointment they
made their report to the Committee on Indian
Affairs.

During the next Baltimore Yearly Meeting,
the Indian Committee suggested, (in a report
they made to that body, in which they alluded
to the inability of their late mission to obtain an
interview with the tribes whose improvement
and preservation they desired,) ^' that if a notice
of the intention of Friends was intimated to the
Indians in a suitable manner, and they were re-
quested to fix a time and place of meeting, a
satisfactory conference might be obtained ; as
the disposition of such of them as they had had
an opportunity of conversing with appeared fa-
vorable."

The report was dated 10th mo. 13th, 1796,
and signed by Evan Thomas,

John Wilson.

On the 15th of 10th month, 1796, the Com-
mittee on Indian Affairs was officially informed
that the Yearly Meeting had made an addition
to that Committee, by the appointment of Reese
Cadwallader, Thomas Farquhar, Joel Wright,
James Mendenhall, George Ellicott, and James
M'Grew.

At the next meeting Joel Wright was ap-
pointed Clerk of the Committee, and no busi-
ness presenting, adjourned.
13*

146 APPENDIX.

At a meeting of the Indian Committee, heldi
at Pipe Creek the 20th of 5th month, 1797, im-
mediately after the conclusion of the Meeting
for Sufferings, which convened at that place, a i
very serious consideration of the important
charge entrusted to them impressed the minds
of the Friends in attendance, and " Joel Wright
expressed a willingness, if provided with suita-
ble company to undertake a journey to the N.
West of the river Ohio, for the purpose of fur-
nishing the Committee with more full informa-
tion respecting the situation and disposition of
the Indians." The Committee approved his
proposal, and he was left at liberty to make the
journey.

The Committee on Indian Affairs met again
on the 7th of Tenth month, 1797, and received
a most interesting account from Joel Wright
and the companions of his journey, — Reese Cad-
wallader and David Greaves, — of their visit to
the Indian country, dated the 15th of Ninth
month, 1797, from which communication the
following extract was copied :*

''In the course of this journey, after having
visited a number of Indian hunting camps and
several of their towns, we had a large oppor-

^ Oa a receat examination of the Records of the
Indian Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, in
order to test the correctness of the abridgment now
published, the incidents, dates and names were found
to be exactly similar.

APPENDIX. 147

tunity to discover their present situation ; often
exposed to the inclemency of the seasons, with
a very precarious and frequently a scanty sup-
ply of food and clothing. From the knowledge
we have obtained of the extensive and valuable
country they have lately given up to the United
States, and of the narrow strip of land yet re-
served for their own use, between the line of
the American garrisons and from Detroit to the
mouth of the Kentucky river, we were im-
pressed with a belief that the Wyandots, Shawa-
nese and Delawares who dwell there, will, unless
they alter their present mode of living, be re-
duced, in a few years, from the scarcity of game,
to a state of extreme want and distress."

At the upper end of Sandusky Town, they
held a council with two of the principal chiefs
of the Wyandot nation and several of their
former warriors and young men, when Isaac
Zane interpreted to them the address prepared
by the Friends of Baltimore Yearly JMeeting.
He also interpreted the reply of one of the
Chiefs, which was brief but friendly.

They found that " the Wyandots were the
principal nation ; that everything of importance
must be transacted in their council,; they can
transact business by themselves, but the Dela-
wares and Shawanese have to apply to them when
any business of consequence is laid before their
people.'^

This reply of the IndianS; was presented to

148 APPENDIX.

Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends with the
Report of the Committee on Indian Concerns,
and was published in the newspapers of the day.
Afterwards, at a meeting of the Indian Com-
mittee in Baltimore, the 16th of Eighth month,
1798, they received a letter from John Hecke-
welder, agent for the Moravian Society, repre-
senting the distressed condition of the Indians
under his care, in consequence of their having
been driven from their settlement on the Mus-
kingum river, during the late war, and were
now returning thereto in want of provisions andi
necessary implements of husbandry ; whereupon:
Reese Cadwallader, Nathan Heald and Joel;
Wright were appointed " to inspect into the
circumstances of those Indians, with liberty, if
they shall believe it necessary, to afford themj
some assistance by furnishing them with such
articles as they may be in immediate want of.''
This delegation reported to the Indian Commit-
tee, at a meeting held in Baltimore the 2d oi
Fourth month, 1799, in a communication bear-,
ing date, Redstone, Twelfth month 21st, 1798.
an°d signed by Reese Cadwallader and Joe]>
Wright. They had proceeded on their mission
as fa°r as Georgetown on the Ohio, sixty-five,
miles from Redstone, but ascertaining that Johr
Heckewelder had lately gone to Bethlehem, anC
had procured the Indians under his charge £
supply of provisions for the winter before hij
departure, and that the principal Indians of tht

APPENDIX. 119

settlement were then dispersed, and at their
hunting camps (no date given), thej turned
their attention to eight or ten families of other
Indians of the Tuscaroras, who were very de-
sirous of being instructed in farming, but were
without agricultural implements, and were also
in want of provisions ; these they would have
visited, in order to meet their ''active men,'^
who had invited them to an interview, but were
prevented from doing so by the situation of the
Ohio river, which was in flood, with vast masses
of ice passing down it. They, however, left a
supply for their relief with Thomas Smith, who
lived near Georgetown, and also engaged a black-
smith to make them some farming utensils.
Reese Cadwallader and Joel Wright, from all
they had heard and seen on their journey, be-
lieved it would be right for the Indian Com-
mittee to send a deputation to the General
Council of the Indians to be held the next
spring.

The Committee on Indian Concerns met again
on the 23d of Third month, 1799, being a spe-
cial meeting; when a letter from Thomas Wistar,
and a speech from the principal chief of the Wyan-
dot nation, called Tarhie (the Crane), was read«
This chief, in his speech, which was delivered at
Detroit on behalf of the whole Wyandot nation,
on the 8th day of September, 1798, reminds
the Friends that they once met the Indians at
a certain place " where a great many good things

150

APPENDIX.

were said and much friendship professed between
them ; that they had no place of security foi
their speeches, as their white brethren had, and!
that their belts of wampum were their only re-
cords;" and adds, " but, if you examine youi
books and papers, you will there find written all
that passed between your forefathers and ours.
He speaks further of a " belt of wampum given'
to us by your forefathers, with a piece of parch-
ment affixed thereto ; when you see the belt oi
wampum and read the writing on the parch-
ment, you no doubt will then perfectly know us,
and will consider us as brethren united by a chain!
of friendship which can never be broken whilst
memory lasts." He informed the Friends that
he understood some of them wished to pay his
people a visit, and adds, " We are much pleased
to hear that you still hold us in remembrance.

The letter of Thomas Wistar,* clerk of the
Committee on Indian Concerns in Philadelphia,
was dcited 27th of Second month, 1799, and
states that " the Miami nation had made a re-
quest of their Committee for some Friends tc
settle amongst them, and a speech from the
Delawares left no doubt that a similar request

* Notwithstanding friendly relations continued evei
after to be maintained between the Indian Committee
of Philadelphia and that of Baltimore, the manu-
scripts I have overlooked furnish no account of fur-
ther correspondence between them, until some years
■ifter the date of this letter of Thomas Wistar.

APPENDIX. 151

would be made from them;" that they had
proceeded no further than to furnish the Mi-
ami's with two ploughs, a harrow, gears and
other articles, but had no prospect of making
an early settlement amongst them. Thomas
Wistar mentions that he was informed by
Jonathan Shefflin that the Wyandot speech
was ''in answer to a few lines left (and signed
by two or three Friends) at their village," and
supposes " it must have been the Friends of
your Committee who were in that country, as
from us none have been sent as yet amongst
the nations west of the River Ohio." He con-
eludes with the following caution to the Balti-
more Committee : " We are aware that Indians
very generally take as promises what may be
suggested to them for their consideration, as
probable to take place, if they unite with it ;
we have of late been very guarded in our com-
munications with them, as the more we become
acquainted with the Indian character the greater
necessity we perceive for it."

On considering the speech of the Wyandot
chief, the Baltimore Committee on Indian Con-
cerns made an enlargement on their former ap-
pointment by the addition of Evan Thomas and
George EUicott, who were directed to co-operate
with Reese Cadwallader, Joel Wright and Na-
than Heald. They were desired to endeavor
to visit those Indians in order to cultivate their
friendship, and, if way should open, to offer
them assistance.

152 APPENDIX.

A reply was also written and forwarded to(
the Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly;
Meeting in part as follows :

'^ Dear Friends, — The correspondence has,-
on our part, been suspended till the account
should be received from the Western Indians,-
which is now communicated by you ; they pro-i
bably conceiving that Friends, wherever situ-i
ated, act as one body united. As the Friends
of Pennsylvania have had a correspondence withl
them at times, from the first settlement of the
country, and as they, in their present address,i
have alluded to former transactions, it seems
the more necessary for us to apply to you foi
information on that head. We have been aware
of our own inability at present to do any great
matters, and have endeavored to guard against
raising their expectations. A speech was some
time ago communicated to some of the chiefs
of the Wyandot nation, at the Upper Sandusky/
with a view to inform them that we were de-!
sirous of turning their minds to some of the
most simple art's of civil life; and we wished
to know of them whether it would be agreeable
to them to make such a movement. They in-i
formed us that they would lay the subject be-
fore their council and return an answer. A
copy of the speech was left with them addressed
to the chiefs of the Wyandot, Shawanese and
Delaware nations, and of which we herewith
hand jou a copy also.

APPENDIX. 153

"■ We sLoTild have been pleased with the re-
ception of the original speech of the Wyandot
Chiefs and the belt of wampum they speak of,
with a copy of that from the Delawares and
Miamis, the latter being, we suppose, of the
Shawanese nation. Five of our number are ap-
pointed to attend at Sandusky at the time of
the great Indian Council, of which you will
please inform the Superintendent,* and com-
municate such further information on the sub-
ject as you may conceive to be necessary. We
also suggest the propriety and usefulness of
your appointing a few Friends to unite in the
visit, since the prudent conducting of the mat-
ter may be of great importance.

"As you are better acquainted than we are
with the mode of condur'ting business with the
Indians, if you think a belt of wampum will be
necessary on our part, you will please to pro-
cure one for us suitable for the purpose, to be
forwarded with the original speech and belt
received by you, and we will remit the amount
so soon as you advise us thereof.

'' Signed on behalf of the Indian Committee
of Baltimore, by

" Joel Wright, Clerk.

'•Baltimore, Third month 24tb, 1^99."

* The seat of Government of the United States had
not then been removed to the City of Washington.
' The Superintendent resided in Philadelphia.

u

154 APPENDIX.

The deputation left their homes on the 7th of
5th mo. 1799, on horse-back and with pack
horses to carry a tent, provisions for the jour-
ney which would be necessary after leaving the
settlements of Friends in Ohio, and useful pres-
ents to the Indians. It may be as well to men-
tion at this point, as the subject has not been al-
luded to before in this Appendix, that of all thttj
missions we have referred to as sent out by the
Indian Committeeof Baltimore Yearly Meeting,
the Friends engaged in them travelled on horse-
back, and experienced privations which in this
day of railroads and telegraphs cannot be appre-
ciated. Valuable sifts for their Eed brethren
their wives, and children, were never omitted or
these occasions.

At the next meeting of the Indian Commit
tee, which was held in Baltimore, the 15th anc
16th of 10th month, 1799, the Friends who hac
been appointed to visit the Indians made theii
report, viz : " Pursuant to our appointment wt
sat out on a visit to the Indians, the 7th of 5tl
month last, and arrived the 3d of the nex'
month at Upper Sandusky, the principal villagi
of the Wyandots ; we were met there by :
friendly reception from Tarhie, (the Crane,) th(
bead chief, and others of the nation who hap
pened to be at the village."

On conferring with them they found that ;
mistake in translating their language had led t
a misunderstanding respecting the time of hold

APPENDIX. 155

iiig the Grand Indian Council, which they now
understood began every year at the full moon,
in the 6th month ; they were, therefore, too
early in their visit, and with the impossibility
of collecting the other Indians who would not
be likely to assemble until the council, they
concluded to hold a conference with Tarhie and
the other chiefs then at Sandusky, in his house;
and had a free conference with them on the sub-
ject of their visit. Their communication was
kindly received, and an answer delivered on
four strings of wampum, expressive of their
gratitude for the care and friendship of the
Quakers f and as soon as the Grand Council
met, they would communicate to it the concern
the Friends now felt for their improvement, and
inform us by a written speech of their conclu-
sion thereon."

They conclude their report by remarking :
•' AVhile we were at Sandusky and in other In-

*Tarhie continued ever after to devote himself to
the improvement of his people, and lived to be the
oldest Indian in the West. He had signed a treaty
between the United States and the Indians as early
as 1*786, and although obliged by his warriors to take
part in the revolt which soon after took place, and
in the battles subsequently fought, he appears to
have been the first to persuade the Indians to make
a virtue of necessity, to "bury the hatchet," and
yield to the superior power of the white men. He
was cruelly executed by the order of Tecumseh, ia
1810

156 APPENDIX.

dian villages, our minds were often deeply af- 1
fected under the sorrowful consideration of the
baneful effect of spirituous liquors on them, being
abundantly supplied with it in almost every vil-
lage by Canadian traders residing among them;
and we are confirmed in the opinion, that unless
the traders can be restrained from furnishing
them with this destructive article, in exchange
for their skins and furs, they will not easily bo
persuaded to turn their minds towards agricul-
ture and the useful arts. At the same time, we
have no doubt that these unprincipled men will
make use of the great influence they have over
the Indians to keep them in their present mode
of living, as most conducive to their own in-
terests. Notwithstanding this cause of dis-
couragement, the great affection which the In-
dians have always manifested for our Society,
induces us to desire that Friends may endeavor
to keep under the weight of the concern, and
be prepared to proceed in the benevolent work
before them, whenever the way may open for
service among them.
Signed by

Evan Thomas,
Joel Wright,
Reese Cadwalader,
George Ellicott.
Dated Monongahela^ Qth mo. 26th, 1779.

In the manuscript journal of George Ellicott to

APPENDIX. 157

the Plains of Sandusky, tte following relation of
the interview between the Friends and the
Wyandot Chiefs is preserved :

'^ After Evan Thomas had concluded his dis-
course, which was delivered by paragraphs
through an interpreter, Tarhie, (the Crane,) the
principal chief, took into his hand four strings
of wampum, and began his speech. As he
proceeded, he continually kept the strings of
wampum moving, and spoke in a methodical
way, and with the force and manner of an orator.
I make no doubt, if the interpreter had been
able to do justice to the sentiments expressed,
we should have pronounced a verdict highly in
favor of the eloquence of this son of the forest.

After he had finished his speech, he desired
his wife (who occupied an apartment above the
council room, so situated that she could hear
what passed), to hand down to him the papers,
which he had ; which she did. We read them,
and found among them Wayne's treaty, and a
i long paper containing much good advice from the
Secretary of War.

When the Indians hold a council, they have
some of their principal women placed in a little
room, either adjoining or overhead, where they
can hear perfectly all that passes. This they
treasure up in their minds, and as they are apt
to have retentive memories, their traditions are
faithfully preserved."

The manuscripts in my possession furnish no
14=^

158 APPENDIX,

record of tlie proceedings of the Indian Com^
mittee, from the reception of this report to thei
17th of -ith month, 1801, when an account is!
given of a meeting, at which a committee was
appointed to draft a letter to Tarhie, Buck-
ingehelas, and other chiefs of the Wyandot and:
Delaware nations of Indians, in return for a let-,
ter and speech which had been received fromi
them, which did not contain a full reply to the(
proposition made to the Indians in 1799. Thei
committee supposed their communication had
not been faithfully translated, and again inquiredl
of their Red brethren : " Are you willing to
have your children instructed at home, on your
own lands, how to raise plenty of corn, to make
clothes, and to build houses ; to keep your old
men, your women and children warm when the
weather is cold ; and that you may not suffer
from want when the game gets scarce in your
country ?"

Signed by

George Ellicott,

Joel Wright,

Israel Janney,

GrOULDSMITH ChANDLEE.

Dated Baltimore^ 4:th month llthy 1801.

At their next meeting the Indian Committee
of Baltimore was informed by a communication
from Joel Wright, that nothing had been re-
ceived from the Indians since the last meeting,
and no business was transacted.

APPENDIX. 159

The next meeting of the committee was a ,
special one, and held at Pi^e Creek, the 24th of fj
the 5th month, 1802. This meeting was called
in consequence of a part of the committee hav-
ing had a conference with a number of Indian
chiefs in Baltimore. The chiefs were on their
way to Washington, the seat of Government,
and were waited on at their lodgings, the
Fountain Inn, Light Street, by the members of
thelndian Committee of Baltimore and Ellicott's
Mills, to confer with them on subjects of deep im-
portance to their Red brethren, viz : the introduc-
tion into their tribes of some of the arts of civil-
ized life, and to remonstrate against the use of
spirituous liquors. The Baltimore members pre-
sented to the General Indian Committee the
whole account of their conference, and the
memorial they had presented to Congress
against the introduction of spirituous liquors
into the Indian settlements. As the account of
the conference was published in several of the
newspapers, I give the following extract from one
of them :

" The editors having obtained a genuine copy
of the proceedings of the committee appointed
by the Yearly Meeting of the respectable So-
ciety of Friends, in two conferences with the
Indian Chiefs from the banks of the Wabash,
Lake Erie, and Lake Michigan, being from the
Pottowattomy, Miami, Delaware, Shawanese,
Weas, Eel * River, Piankashaw, Kickapoo

160 APPENDIX.

and Kaskaskia tribes of Indians, who lately
passed through this city on their way to the
Federal Government, feel no small degree of
pleasure in having it in their power to gratify
an inquisitive public with the interesting con-
tents."

Besides the members of the Society of Friends,
many respectable persons of different religious
persuasions were present, and the communica-
tions were taken down with accuracy by Gerard
T. Hopkins, a stenographer of great ability.
William Wells, agent for the United States
amongst the Indians North-west of the Ohio,
was the interpreter. He was a native of Ken-
tucky, and had been taken captive by the
Miamis when only eight years of age, — had
afterwards been adopted by one of the chiefs,
and continued to reside amongst them. On this
occasion he had attained his thirty-fifth year,
and being possessed of good talents, not only
spoke the language of the Tribes represented by
the Little Turtle, the Five Medals, and other
Indians present, but also the English language
with fluency, and wrote well.

On the first interview of the committee with
the Chiefs, which was on the 26th of the 12th
month, 1801, the exercises commenced by the
following short, but expressive address from
Elisha Tyson, in whose house the Indian Delega-
tion, the Indian Committee and their friends, were
convened; he was not at the time a member of:

APPENDIX. 161

the committee, but was interested ia all philan-
thropic movements.

" Brothers and Friends : I am desirous in the
early part of this opportunity, that you may be
informed, that the people called Quakers con-
sider all mankind as their brothers : that they
believe the Great Spirit and Father of all man-
kind created all men of one blood ; and that it
is the will of Him, who also created the sun,
the moon, and the stars, and causes them to give
us light, — the G-reat Spirit and common Father
of all mankind,— that we should not do one another
hurt, but that we should do one another all the
good we can ; and it is on this ground, and this
principle, that we believe it right to take you by
the hand."

Then after a short time spent in silence, an-
other member of the Society of Friends, John
M'Kim, spoke, declaring " that the Quakers be-
lieved it required of them to love all men,
jwithout reference to location or complexion ;
that they were convinced it was not in their
power to perform their religious duties to the
Great Creator of all things without his assistance,
and therefore felt it their duty, when entering
upon such important business as that in which
they were about to engage, to sit down in
istillness and wait upon Him." After some-
Jthing more on this subject, and a reference to
ithe Yearly Meetings of Philadelphia and Balti-
more, he proceeded to say that '• the Friends re-

162 APPENDIX.

membered the friendship which had subsisted
between their Society and the Indians, fron:
their first settlement in America ; and recollect
ing that the Western country was fast filling uf
with white people, and that game would ne
cessarily become scarce, they feared the Indianj
would be brought into a state of sufi"ering
That, in consequence of the long wars that hac
subsisted between them and some of the whit«
people, the Friends for a long time had not hac
an opportunity of taking them by the hand!
That so soon as an opportunity had presented!
after a peace was efi"ectedj a concern had arisei
in their council, and several Friends were ap
pointed to go out into the wilderness and have;
talk with them. He then called upon thi
Friend who sat at his right hand, Evan Thomas
who had been one of the mission to the Plain;i
of Sandusky, to give an account of the move
ment in this concern, Evan Thomas then gavi
a very concise relation of the journey, and th'
conference with the Wyandot Chiefs, (whicl
has been before alluded to, and of which ;
narrative was published some years since bj
Philip E. Thomas,) and proceeded to inform th^
deputation that the Friends had received no re
sponse to the proposals then made to the In
<iians ; but a belt of wampum and a speech ha(
been sent them from a council held at Detroit
and an invitation to attend their General Coun
oil. After he had concluded, another membe

APPENDIX. 16fl

of the Indian Committee, George Ellicott, ad-
dressed the chiefs as follows :

" Brothers and Friends: We were glad when
we heard that some of our Red brethren were
coming to this city, and felt our minds drawn
to take them by the hand, and have an oppor-
tunity of knowing them. As we have not been
made acquainted with their circumstances, we
have not been able to judge whether any thing
we have had to propose to do for them would be
accepted ? Whether they are really under the
necessity of applying to some other mode of
living to obtain a livelihood, and whether game in
t'leir country is yet plenty? We have thought,
brothers, that if it should not yet be the case,
that game is scarce, at the present time, it will
probably be the case in some future time ; and,
therefore, we have thought it would be best for
our Red brethren to give some attention to the
cultivation of the soil. This is one of the subject*
which has claimed our attention ; and as we feel
in our hearts that we love the Indians and desire
their welfare, we wish to turn their attention to the
subject; we also believe, brothers, that we
derive a very great advantage from reading
books which contain instruction, we wish that
our brethren, the Indians, should partake of the
same means of instruction with ourselves. We
wish you to let us know with candor, whether
you desire these things, and if you do so, that
we may do for you whatever may be in our
power."

164 APPENDIX.

After a sbort pause^ the Little Turtle inquires
if the Friends had any thiwg more to say, an!
being told that we were all willing to listen V
him, he rose up and said :

" Brothers and Friends : My heart return
thanks to the Great Spirit above, that has put :
in our power to- speak to each other. Ml
brother chiefs and myself are glad that cm
Friends and brothers, the Quakers, have sue
great compassion for their Red brethren." HI
then spoke of the belief of the Indians, "ii;
one Great Creator of all the men upon th'
earth, and who were made when the earth, th:
sun, moon and stars were also made, to be usefi
to them and give them light.'' After referrin
to the desire of the Friends to benefit the Ir
dians, and their need of that assistance, h
added: "You have been kept in the straigh
path by the Great and Good Spirit. W
have been led astray by inferior spirits : w
now hope that we may come upon your tracii
and follow it." He then said " the long an
destructive wars that have raged in the countn
of our Red brethren, since your fathers firs
came amongst them, have caused their numberi
to be greatly diminished. Those that have com!
among us, have very much cheated and impose'
upon us. They found us simple and ignoran
and have taken great care to keep every thin
from us, in order to profit by our ignorance.
'' Friends and Brothers, — We find you are nor

APPENDIX. 165

disposed, with open arms to receive us, and we
hope the Great Spirit will assist you, together
with the Great Chief of the White People, to
whom we are about to apply for help.

'' Brothers and Friends,— At the Treaty of
Grenville, which is now a little past six years,
we received some presents by the hand of the
Great War Chief of the Americans (General
Wayne) — said to be sent to us by our brothers
the Quakers. After this Treaty I was invited
by the Great War Chief of the Americans to
visit them. It is now four years since I visit-
ed them in Philadelphia, whilst the Great Coun-
cil was held in that city. I had there an oppor-
tunity to see our brothers the Quakers, and re-
ceived from their mouths some of their talks :
all these talks I wrapped up in my heart, and
when I returned home to my brothers I told
them all those good things which you had told
us you were desirous to do for us."

" Brothers and Friends, — I am happy to say
that these my Red Brothers now present with
me are Chiefs, who in their own country are
equally great with myself; they were rejoiced to
hear your words delivered to them through me
four years ago ; and they are equally glad with
myself to hear from the mouths of our brothers
the Quakers the same good -words again. If we
understand you right, you wish to add comfort
to our women and children by teaching us and
15

166

APPENDIX.

them some of your ways of living. I am glad
that the Great Spirit has put it into your hearts,
and am sorry that your efforts have not yet been
successful.

" Brothers and Friends,-! now assure you, that
you hear the voice of the Potowatomy, Miami,
Delaware, Shawanese, Weas, Eel River, Pianka-
shaw, Kickapoo, and Kaskaskia Tribes of Indi
ans, and if you wish to do any thing for any of;
these nations we will at all times be ready to
render any assistance in our power."

The Little Turtle then again alluded to the plea-
sure they had received from the words of the
Friends of Philadelphia, and were equally pleased
to hear the same good words from the Friends ot
of Baltimore. He then mentioned that the Friends
of Philadelphia had given them some tools, among
which were " two ploughs.''* " I used them,
and did all I could to keep them from wearing
out ; I was pleased with them ; they now need
repair ; we have nobody among us that can mend
them, and they are now useless to me." Hci
then referred to a visit they had made to Phila-i!
delphia five days since, and the talks they had hadi
together with the Quakers there, and concluded
by inviting the Friends of Baltimore to meet thtj
Indian tribes at their next Great Council, held
annually at Fort Wayne, at the time the Indian?
receive their annuities from the United States

* Alluded to in the letter of Thomas Wistar.

APPENDIX. , 167

and requested that any information intended for
them should be conveyed to them through their
interpreter, William Wells, Indian agent at Fort
Wayne.

After taking his seat, this chief appeared to
have reflected that he had not answered fully
the questions proposed to them, and rising again,
said :

" Brothers and Friends : It is the real wish
of your brothers, the Indians, to engage in the
cultivation of our lands, and although the game
is not yet so scarce but that we can get enough
to cat, we know it is becoming scarce, and that
we must begin to take hold of such tools as we
see are in the hands of the white people.'^ After-
wards he alluded in forcible language to the con-
fidence which the Red men had in the Friends,
and that they knew they desired no compensa-
tion for their services to them, and added, " Bro-
thers; we are a jealously disposed people — almost
every white man that comes among us endeavors
to cheat us; this has occasioned jealousy among
us. But your talks, brothers, are different, and
we believe you."

The Five Medals then made a speech, in
which he reiterated much that the Little Turtle
had spoken, and continued: "Friends and Broth-
ers, the talks that you have now delivered to
us shall be carefully collected, wrapped up and
put in our hearts, — we will not forget them.
On our return home, we will have them com-

168 - APPENDIX.

municated from the head to the mouth of
the Wabash, — from this to the Mississippi, and
up that river until it strikes the lakes, thence
round by Michillimackanack until they come
back again to the same place. What we say to
you does not come from one, but from many,
and what you have now said to us, you speak it to
but a few, but it shall be communicated to many.
" Brothers and Friends, I observed to our
friends, the Quakers of Philadelphia, five days
ago, what I say now to you, that we wish our
brothers, the Quakers, to render us those services
they have proposed. We promise that nothing
shall be wanting on our part to give aid to so
desirable a thing in our country. Our situation
at present will not admit of carrying such a
plan so fully into execution as we could desire,
but I hope you may not be prevented from ma-
king trial. If we had such tools as you make
use of; and which add so much to your comfort —
for we have been lost in wonder at what we have
seen among you, — if we had these instruments,
we should, I hope, be willing to use them.

" From the great things, and astonishing
wonders, which we have seen among you, and
finding they all eome out of the earth, it makes
me anxious to try if I cannot get some for my-
self"

He then expressed his regret that the move-
ments of the Friends towards the Indians had

APPENDIX. 169

not met with the success which they deserved, allu-
ding to their having received no satisfactory re-
ply from the Wyandots and Delawares, and
concluded with observing, " There is a great
deal, brothers, in having a good interpreter, and
beginning at the right end of the business. "
[The Indian Committee who had had the inter-
view with Tarhie, (the Crane,) and a few of his
chiefs at Sandusky, were under the impression
that their speech to the Indians was not clearly
translated, of which a hint had been given, and
hence the remarks of the Five Medals.]

Here the interview with the Indians closed.

After reflecting on the subject of their con-
ference with the Indian Chiefs, the members of
the Indian Committee regretted that they had
not made use of that opportunity to express
their opinion on the subject of the use of spirit-
uous liquors. Another meeting of the Com-
mittee and their friends was accordingly called,
and the chiefs were invited to attend. They met
again at the dwelling of Elisha Tyson. After a
brief representation of the reason for another
interview given by a friend, Evan Thomas ad-
dressed the chiefs in a forcible communication,
which was full of feeling ; after assuring them
that the love he felt for the Indians, and his
interest in their welfare, had taken away all
fear of giving them offence, he proceeded to ac-
knowledge what he had witnessed in his visit to
the AVyandot Nation, and his beUef that the too
15*

170 APPENDIX.

frequent use of spirituous liquors was more im
the way of their improvement than anything
else, and appealed to them thus : '' Are you off
the same mind with us who are your friends, and-1
have your good at heart ; that it would be right
for us to take the subject into our serious con-
sideration, to endeavor to discover whether'
there may not be some steps taken that would
put a check upon this pernicious thing ?" !

After calling upon the chiefs to express them-
selves freely in regard to the concern, the
Little Turtle inquired if any of his broth-
ers, the Quakers, had any further communica-
tion to make, and being desired to proceed, rose
up and said : "■ Brothers and Friends, I am
happy to find it has pleased the Great Spirit,
that we should again meet in the same house in
which we held our council yesterday. I am
happy to find that it is the will of the Great
and Good Spirit that we should discover that
there was something omitted yesterday, that
was highly necessary for your red brethren.

'' Friends and brothers, [ am glad to find that
it has pleased the Great Spirit to put a wish in
your hearts on the subject you have mentioned;
a subject of the greatest importance to us.
What you have said relative to our being ooe
flesh and blood is true. Your brothers, the In-
dians, believe that it is in this light the Great
Spirit considers ail mankind. '^ He afterwards
remarked, that the Indians had Ions been aware

APPENDIX. 171

of tlie great evils which had ^ raged' in their
country, but could obtain no redress ; that since
the introduction of spirituous liquors among
them, their numbers were greatly diminished,
and taking advantage of the request which had
been made, that they should express themselves
freely, added : " I will now take the liberty to
mention, that most of the evils existing among
the Red people, have been caught from the white
people ; not only that liquor which destroys us
daily, but many diseases that our forefathers were
ignorant of, before they saw you.

"Brothers and Friends : — I am glad you have
seen this business as we do, and rejoice to find
that you agree in opinion with us, and express
an anxiety to be, if possible, of service to us,
to remove this great evil out of our country ; an
evil that has had so much ruin in it, — that has
destroyed so many of our lives, that it causes our
young men to say, ' We had better be at war
with the white people.' This liquor that they
introduce into our country, is more to be feared
than the gun or the tomahawk ; there are more
of us dead since the treaty of Grrenville, than
we lost by the years of war before, and it is all
owing to the introduction of this liquor among
us. This subject, brothers, composes a part of
what we intend to make known to the Great
Council of our White brethren. On our arrival
there, we shall endeavor to explain to our Great

172 APPENDIX.

Father, the President, a great many evils that
have arisen in our country, from the introduc-
tion of this liquor by the white traders.

" Brothers and Friends: In addition to what
I have before observed of this great evil in the
country of your red brethren, I will say further,
that it has made us poor. It is this liquor that
causes our young men to go without clothes, and
our women and children to go without anything
to eat, and sorry I am to mention now to you,
brothers, the evil is increasing every day, as the
white settlers come nearer to us, and bring those
kettles they boil that stuflf in they call whiskey,
of which our young men are so extremely fond.
Brothers, when our young men have been out
hunting, and are returning home loaded with
skins and furs, on their way, if it happens that
they come along where some of this whiskey is
deposited, the White man who sells it, tells them
to take a little drink ; some of them will saj'
no, I do not want it 3 they go on until they
come to another house, where they find more of
the same kind of drink; it is there again offered,
they refuse, and again the third time; but
finally the fourth or fifth time, one accepts of it
and takes a drink, and getting one, he wants
another, and then a third, and fourth, till his
senses have left him. After this, reason comes
back to him; when he gets up and finds where
he is, and asks for his peltry, the answer is, you
have drank them. Where is my gun ? It is

APPENDIX. 173

gone. Where is my blanket ? It is gone.
Where is my shirt ? You have sold it for
whiskey ! Now, brothers, figure to yourselves
what a condition this man must be in ;
he has a family at home, a wife and children,
who stand in need of the profits of his hunting,
what must their wants be, when he himself is
also without a shirt." After expressing his
hope that the G-reat Spirit would aid the
Friends in their efibrts to assist the Indians, and
that they would use any influence they possessed
with the great council of the United States on
their behalf, and again alluding to the baneful
efi'ects of spirituous liquors, and the bad advice
of wicked men who wished to keep them in ig-
norance, he finished by declaring that he desired
all that he had said should be made public,
provided the Friends had no objection thereto.

The Five Medals then rose and said : — " My
Brothers and Friends: I have nothing to say on
the subject we have now been talking over. 3Iy
friend, the Little Turtle, has given you a full
answer to those things you have mentioned to
us; we are but one people, and have but one
voice. We hope, brothers, that your friendship
and ours may never be broken."

Evan Thomas, then addressed them again as
follows . — " Friends and Brothers: What you
have communicated at this time, has been
clearly understood, and we are glad to find we
see things in the same light that you see them.

174 APPENDIX.

The several matters you have mentioned, and
the difficulties you have stated, claim our sym-
pathy and solid consideration, and we shall, I
trust, take the subject up, and if way should
open for us to move forward, in aiding you in
your application to the General Government, we
shall be willing, either on this occasion, or anyi
other, to render you any service in our power."
The conference then broke up, and the Indian
Committee prepared and forwarded to the Con-
gress of the United States, the following me-
morial.

'' To the Congress of tlte United States :
'^ The memorial of the Committee appointed
for Indian affairs by the Yearly Meeting of
Friends held in Baltimore, respectfully repre-
sents:

"That a concern to introduce amongst some
of the Indian tribes north-west of the river Ohio,
the most simple and useful arts of civil life,
being several years since laid before our Yearly
Meeting, a Committee was appointed by that
body, to visit them, to examine their situation,
and endeavor to ascertain in what manner so
desirable a purpose could be effected. A part
of that Committee, after having obtained the
approbation of the President of the United
States, proceeded to perform the service assigned
them, and the result of their enquiries and ob-
servations, as reported to the Yearly Meeting, ,,
was, that the quantity of spirituous liquors with

APPENDIX. 175

Tvhicli tlie Indians are supplied, by traders, and
frontier settlers, must counteract the effect of
every measure, however wise and salutary,
which can be devised to improve their situa-
tion. . 1 J 1

"The truth of this assertion is abundantly
confirmed by a speech made before us, by a
Miami chief, the Little Turtle, (of which we
herewith transmit a copy for your consideration.)
and we also acknowledge our belief, that the
evil is of such magnitude^ that unless it can be
altogether removed or greatly restrained, no
rational hope of success in the proposed under-
taking can be entertained. We are therefore
inducted to solicit the attention of the National
Legislature to this interesting and important
subject; a subject which we consider involves,
not only their future welfare, but even their very
existence as a people.

" Signed on behalf of the Committee, by
Evan Thomas, John M'Kira ,

Elias Ellicott, Joel Wright,

John Brown, George Ellicott,

David Brown.
Baltimore, 1st month, 1802."

These Friends soon after repaired to the seat
of government, presented their memorial to
Conc^ress, and were gratified by the passage of
the law, which they so much desired. Whilst
in Washington they waited on the Secretary, of

176 APPENDIX.

War. The law passed by CoDgress, authorized
the President of the United States '4o take
such measures from time to time, as to him may
seem expedient, to prevent or restrain the vend-
ing or distributing of spirituous liquors, among,
all or any of the Indian tribes."

On the subject of civilization the law states'
''that in order to promote civilization amongsl
the friendly Indian tribes, and to secure the con-
tinuance of their friendship, it shall be lawful
for the President of the United States to cause(
them to be furnished with useful domestic ani-
mals, and implements of husbandry, and with!
goods or money as he shall judge proper, and to
appoint such persons from time to time, as tem-
porary agents to reside amongst the Indians, as
he shall think fit; provided that the whole
amount of such presents and allowance to such
agents shall not exceed fifteen thousand dollars
per annum.''

The Committee reported their progress to a
general meeting of the Committee on Indiar-
concerns, which was held in Baltimore, 13th oli
10th month, 1802,* and informed them of th€<
conferences which had been held with the Indian
chiefs; the chiefs of those nations whom Baltii

^During the session of Baltimore Yearly Meeting
The general meeting of the Indian Committee, ol
Baltimore Yearly Meeting, in consequence of the re-
mote residence of some of the members, met once 8
year.

APi'ENDIX. 177

more Yearlj^ Meeting had it in contemplation to
visit. Their report presented the speeches of
the chiefs, the memorial of the Committee to
Congress, a copy of the law passed by Congress,
and an account of their interview with the Sec-
retary of War, with the information received
from him. The War department at this period
of the government of the United States had the
care of Indian affairs, and the Secretary informed
the Friends that, agreeably to the request of the
Indians, the government had established a tra-
ding house at Fort Wayne, that they were in
want of several persons of our Society; black-
smiths, carpenters, and superintendents, men
that could make and mend ploughs, looms, farm-
ing utensils, &c., and wished to employ such
as were of exemplary conduct, and concerned for
the promotion of the work in prospect; to such
the United States offered a liberal compensa-
tion.'^

At the next meeting which was held in Bal-
timore the 7th of 2d mooth, 1803, the Commit-
tee on Indian Concerns agreed to make the
following application to the Meeting for Suffer-
ings of Baltimore Yearly Meeting :

^'We of the Committee on Indian affairs ap-
pointed by Baltimore Yearly Meeting, impressed
with an idea of the importance of our appoint-
ment, and with a full persuasion, that the situa-
tion of our business requires speedy attention,
as the obstructions that have heretofore prevented
IG

17^ APPKNJ>IX.

Friends from moving forward, in extending to
the Western Indians the benefits some years
ago contemplated by the Yearly Meeting, are
now removed, and considering the distant situa-
tion of many of our members from each other,
and the difficulty and even impracticability of ob-
taining a general meeting; we have been in-
duced to believe it right to submit the subject
to the consideration of the Meeting for Sufferings
for their cordial sympathy and advice, and if
they may believe it right, for their co-opera-
tion also. Signed by

Evan Thomas, Moses Dillon,

John M'Kim, Jonathan Wright,

David Brown, George Ellicott,

Elias Ellicott, Joel Wright."

The Meeting for Sufferings entered cordially
into sympathy with the members of the Indian
Committee in their benevolent enterprise, and
they were encouraged to appoint a Committee to
procure agricultural, and other useful implements,
and have them conveyed in seasonable time tO)
Fort Wayne.

The Committee on Indian concerns met again
in Baltimore the 10th of 10th month, 1803, and
drew up a report for Baltimore Yearly Meeting;
in which they related that in consequence of
information received from the Western Indians,
and the prohibition by the President of the
United States of the sale of spirituous liquors

APPENDIX. 179

amongst them, " the Committee had been im-
pressed with the belief that the time for an
earnest commencement of the benevolent inten-
tions of the Yearly Meeting had arrived; they
had accordingly purchased for the use of those
Indians" agricultural implements of various
kinds ''which were sent in packages to Pittsburg,
from whence they were to be immediately con-
veyed to Fort Wayne, and delivered as a present
from the Society of Friends of Baltimore Yearly
Meeting, to the Little Turtle, and other chiefs;
to be disposed of by them, to such of their peo-
ple as they knew were desirous of using them."
They also reported that they had had some cor-
respondence with William Wells, the Indian
agent at Fort Wayne, but had not yet heard of
the arrival of the agricultural implements at
their destination. William Wells had replied
to their enquiries on behalf of the Indians, and in-
formed them as his opinion, that ^' the suppres-
sion of liquors in that country is the best thing
that has ever been done for the Indians, by the
United States; that within a year, not one In-
dian had been killed; whilst there had never
been a year before since the treaty of Gren-
ville in which there were less than ten
killed, and some years as many as thirty."

The report was signed on behalf of the Com-
mittee, by Evan Thomas, Joel Wright, and
James Mendenhall.

To this report a postscript was added, that in

180 APPENDIX.

consequence of the decease of some of the first
members of the Indian Committee (their names,,
however, not given,) and a distant situation and i
other causes preventing the attendance of many,
"it was believed a benefit might arise from the
discontinuance of the present Committee, and the
appointment of another."

Their report was read, and their request for ai
new Committee considered at Baltimore Yearly.
Meeting, held by adjournments from the 10th i
day of 10th month, to the 14th of the same in-
clusive, 1803; and at the next meeting of the'
members of the Committee, on the 14th of 10th i
month, 1803, a minute of the Yearly Meetin*
informed them of the appointment of the follow-
ing Friends to constitute a Committee on Indian
Affairs; they were desired by the minute of
their appointment, " to pay such attention to the
interesting concern as they may be enabled to
render," to wit:

Evan Thomas, Isaac Tyson,

Joel Wright, Israel Wilson,

Elisha Tyson, Henry Mills,

Edward Stabler, Jonas Cattell,

George Ellicott, David G reave,

Jonathan Wright, Elias Ellicott,

Gerard T. Hopkins, Jonathan Ellicott,
John Ellicott, Benjamin Ellicott,

Asa Moore, Philip E. Thomas,

Caleb Bently, Thomas Moore,

William Kirk, Samuel Snowden,

Wm. Stabler, of Sandy Spring.

APPENDIX. 181

Immediately after their organization Philip E.
Thomas was appointed Secretary, and Elias EUi-
cott Treasurer of the Indian Committee, Philip
E. Thomas continued to perform the duties of
Secretary to the Committee, with untiring zeal
and ability, from the date of his appointment to
the time of his decease, which took place the 1st
day of 9th month, 1861, Elias Ellicott had
been Treasurer of the Indian Committee from
the period of its origin in the year 1795. After
this reappointment he continued faithfully to
perform the trust confided to him, until his de-
cease in 10th month, 1827.

At the next meeting of the Committee on In-
dian aflFairs, held the 6th of 2d month, 1804, a
letter was received from the Little Turtle, and
the Five Medals, Miami, and Wyandot chiefs,
which resulted in the appointment of a delega-
tion to visit them, of whom Gerard T. Hopkins
and Greorge Ellicott alone performed the ser-
vice.

The Friends who accomplished this journey
together have now for many years been num-
bered with the dead. Greorge Ellicott departed
this life the 9th of 4th month, 1832, aged 72
years, and Gerard T. Hopkins died nearly two
years afterwards on the 27th of 3d month, 1834,
in the 66th year of his age.

Philip Dennis, who accompanied them to
Fort Wayne with the intention of instructing
the Indians in agriculture, faithfully performed
16*

182 APPENDIX.

the duty, so far as he alone was concerned. The
Little Turtle had in one of his interviews with
the Friends told them " our young men are not |
so much disposed to be industrious as we could [
desire." Philip Dennis found this represen-
tation of them fully verified in his experience.
After he had, with some assistance from the In-
dians, enclosed his plantation with a rude fence,
only one, or at the most two of the red men
evinced any disposition to labor. They would
take a seat either on the fence, or in the trees,
near the premises, and watch him with apparent
interest in his daily engagement of ploughing
and hoeing, but without offering to lend a help-
ing hand. He found the land very fertile, and
raised a large crop of corn and other products,
which, after gathering into a storehouse he built
for the purpose in the autumn, he left in charge
of some of the neighboring chiefs for a winter
supply for the necessitous members of the tribes
for whom he had labored, and returned to his
home at Ellicott's Mills.

Philip Dennis lived some years afterwards,
a respectable member of the Society of Friends, .
and died on his farm in Montgomery County,
Maryland.

The promise made at the commencement of
the foregoing brief history of the Indian Com-
mittee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, from its
appointment in 1795 to 1804, has thus been

APPENDIX 183

performed, and the limits I had prescribed for
this Appendix have been already exceeded ; but
the very interesting character of the concern in-
duces me (before producing a copy of the Trea-
ty of Grenville, which from its influence on the
condition of the Indian Tribes ought to be pre-
sented to the reader) to add the following ac-
count.

From the last meeting of the committee, as
above related, in 1804, to the commencement of
the war with Great Britain, the affairs of the
Indians continued to increase in importance, and
their friends were frequently flattered with the
hope of a successful and permanent settlement of
the Tribes, to whom the United States under
certain conditions had guaranteed their lands, in
the neighborhood of the Lakes. Philanthropists,
not only in our own country, but, also, of the
more enlightened European nations, continued
to accord to the efi'orts of the Friends of this
country the meed of their approbation, and from
members of the Society of Friends in G-reat
Britain, the Indian Committees of Phila-
delphia and Baltimore received donations of
money, paid to them in two instalments of several
thousand dollars each, to be applied to the im-
provement of the condition of the Indians, which
greatly increased their opportunities of useful-
nei's ; to these donations was afterwards added
a bequest from a friend of Ireland, of much less

184 APPENDIX.

amount, it is true, but, nevertheless, a valuable
contribution to the cause of humanity.

Portions of these diflFerent sums of money were
faithfully applied, with those collected from
their own members, in giving encouragement
to the civilization of the Indians ; in the pro-
motion of a good system of agriculture ; in sup-
porting schools; in building small mills for
grinding Indian corn, and in endeavoring to
discountenance the hard servitude of their
women.

On the establishment of the Yearly Meeting
of Ohio, in 1813, which had originally formed
a part of that of Baltimore, the Indian Com-
mittee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting faithfully
divided the money remaining on hand, with the
Indian Committee of Ohio Yearly Meeting, to
be applied in accordance with the instructions
received for its expenditure ; but the unsettle-
ment produced in the neighborhood of the Cana-
dian frontier, by the war with the British na-
tion, produced its effect on the friendly tribes,
and, after much consultation among themselves,
and repeated visits of Chiefs to Washington,
they concluded to cede all the lands to which
they had any title, in Ohio, to the United States,
and remove further west. This was in 1817.'*'
" The Indians were at their option to remain on
the ceded lands, subject to the laws of the State
or country."

* Emma Willard's American Republic.

APPENDIX. 185

Recollections of the Little Turtle and other
Indians.

The Little Turtle, with several other Chiefs,
spent two days at Ellicott's Mills, during Christ-
mas week of 1807, attended by Wm. Wells, the
United States Agent for Fort Wayne, as inter-
preter. They had been to Washington on busi-
ness, had had an interview with the Indian Com-
mittee in Baltimore, and were returning home
through the State of Maryland.

G-eorge Ellicott called to see them soon after
their arrival, and gave them an invitation to
dine the next day, at his house, which was not
far distant from the hotel where they lodged.
The delegation was composed of the following
persons : — The Little Turtle and Rusheville,
Chiefs of the Miami nation ; the Beaver and
Crow of the Delawares ; two Shawanese Chiefs,
and Marpau and the Raven, Chiefs of the
Potowatomies j of the two last named each was
accompanied by his wife. All accepted the in-
invitation but Marpau, who positively declined
both for himself and his wife. He was of a very
warlike disposition, and the brother of Tecumseh,
and the Prophet, who, in 1811, openly revolted
from their allegiance to the United States, and
were the cause of much bloodshed on the Cana-
dian frontier. Already the spirit of disaffection
had taken hold of his mind ; he refused to wear
any article of clothing manufactured by the

186 APPENDIX.

white people, and was by no means reserved in
his expressions of hatred toward the whole race,
who, he maintained, had violently wrested from
them all their most valuable possessions. Nor
did he hesitate to express his determination,
with aid of his two powerful brothers, to regain
all the lands which had originally belonged to
them, after putting to death all those who now
occupied them.

In order to give him favorable impressions of
the power of the Federal government, and re-
lieve his mind of the idea of taking up arms
against it, the other members of the delega-
tion, all friendly Indians except himself and
the Raven, had persuaded him to make the
journey, hoping he would discover, as he passed
along, so many evidences of the strength of the
people he professed to despise, as to be induced
to prefer peace to war, on any terms. No favor-
able change, however, had been the result. He
had refused every civility tendered him while in
Washington, remaining shut up with his wife,
in his apartments, while all the rest of his com-
panions partook of every enjoyment offered them.
He had refused to meet the Indian Committee
in Baltimore, (but was afterwards induced to do
so,) and remained in the same mood on his arri-
val at Ellicott's Mills ; and although George
Ellicott assured him he could promise him a
welcome and kind treatment at his house, he
still declined. The Little Turtle endeavored to

APPENDIX. 187

change his purpose ; rallied him on his obsti-
nacy, ill-humor and laziness, and told him he
was too large a man to give so poor a display of
Indian politeness, and that he would return to
his home in the same state of igijorance in which
he had left it; but all to no purpose. He bore
the raillery with apparent good humor, but re-
mained unmoved. Marpau was of very large
stature, and in the prime of manly vigor. His
dress was entirely made up of the skins of wild
animals, which had been killed by his own
hands.

Having heard so much of the Little Turtle,
I determined to be present when he and the
other Chiefs were introduced at the house, where
they were to be entertained as guests. He was
the first to enter the parlor, and bowed grace-
fully as he was introduced to the family, and
made a short address, in which he acknowledged
the pleasure it afibrded him thus to meet the
I wife and children of a friend to whom he felt
obliged, and of whom he entertained the highest
opinion.

The interpreter then introduced the rest of
the party, who shook hands, and took their seats.
Afterwards a pleasant conversation took place
j between the Miami Chiefs, the Interpreter, and
isome of the residents of the village, in which
I the Indians drew a comparison between savage
land civilized life, and in favor of civilization.
The Little Turtle was anxious to have a flour

188 APPENJDIX.

mill erected in his town, and appeared earnestly
desirous of promoting the improvement of his
people. The Shawanese, the Raven and his
wife, and the Beaver and Crow listened in
silence.

The dress and mantle of the Raven bore a
close resemblance to those worn by Marpau,
and were of similar material. He was esteemed
the greatest hunter of the Potowatomies, and
occasionally visited the Rocky Mountains in
pursuit of game, and on his last excursion to
that distant range, had killed a grizzly bear of
immense weight and size, whose skin, dressed
with the claws and teeth attached, he wore on
this occasion, thrown over his shoulders. His
face was painted; the cheeks and forehead
black, and across one of his cheeks was a heavy
dash of Vermillion, which looked like a deep and
gaping flesh wound. His hair, which was thick
and coarse, was cut about six inches long in
front, and hung about his face, but was its full
length behind, and tied in several places with
bands of buckskin, and powdered with red paint ;
and he wore on the top of his head, a small
coronet of eagle's feathers. Attached to an
embroidered belt hung his tobacco pouch, made
of the entire skin of a beaver, and by its side
his tomahawk and scalping knife.

With his large and muscular proportions, ac-
companied by the disfigurements of the paint,
he was only saved from the appearance of a bar=

APPENDIX, \^

barous and unrelenting savage, by a countenance
expressive of the utmost good humor.

The wife of the Raven was a young and hand-
some woman, of a modest and downcast expres-
sion. She did not seem to entertain the preju-
dices against civilized manufactures, which ex-
isted in her husband's mind, and wore a blue
cloth habit, though made in Indian style; a hat,
covered with braided ribbon, feathers of different
sorts, and tinsel ornaments. Her moccasins were
beautifully embroidered with moose hair, inter-
spersed with plaited rows of porcupine's quills;
her necklace was made of several rows of beads
of many colors, and her ear ornaments, which
were drooping, and hung nearly down to her
shoulders, were also of beads; and she wore,
wrapped around her person, a fioe Makinaw
blanket.

The Little Turtle and Rusheville, the Beaver
ind Crow, and the two Shawanese, were dressed
[n a costume usually worn by our own citizens
pf the time : coats of blue cloth, gilt buttons,
Dantaloons of the same color, and buff waistcoats ;
)ut they all wore leggings, moccasins, and large
^old rings in their ears. The Little Turtle ex-
ceeded all his brother Chiefs iu dignity of ap-
)earance— a dignity which resulted from the
iharacter of his mind. He was of medium
tature, with a complexion of the palest copper
ihade, and did not wear paint. His hair was
tull suit, and without any admixture of "-rev
17 •^'

190 APPENDIX.

although from what he said of his age, at Fort
Wayne, in 1804, being then fifty-three, he must
at this time have been fifty-seven years old.
His dress was completed by a Ions, red, military
sash around the waist, and his hat (a chapeau
bras) was ornamented by a red feather. Imme-
diately on entering the house, he took ofi" his
hat, and carried it under his arm during the
rest of the visit. His appearance and manners,
which were gracefnl and agreeable, in an un-
common degree, were admired by all who made
his acquaintance.

When seated at table they seemed to enjoy tht
repast which was set before them. A large
dish of hominy — a national dish with the In
dians — had with a variety of other dishes beei
served up, especially in reference to their tastes
and was very acceptable to them. The Raven
on taking his seat, immediately pointed it out t^
his wife, who sat at his side, and spoke for th
first time since his entrance, to request to b
helped bountifully to the hominy, having see:,
nothing he liked so well since he had left th
woods.

The visit ended very agreeably ; the deput£
tion shook hands with the Friends who had er
tertained them, and returned to their bote
They found Marpau and his wife quietly seate
by the fireside, but soon understood they ha
just returned from a walk, having passed th

APPENDIX. 191

day on the hills, and in the fields on the banks
of the Patapsco.

We were told that they spent a part of the
day seated upon the rocks, contemplating the
scenery before them ; they were afterwards at-
tracted to a point where hickory nuts and per-
simmons were abundant, and the Chief was seen
climbing the trees, and gathering the persim-
mons and nuts, and throwing them down to his
wife, who seemed fond of them. Thus, they had
passed the day, and looked refreshed thereby.

Both Marpau and the Kaven, whilst on their
journey, were careful to present themselves, on
all occasions, where there was a chance of their
being seen, painted and adorned in their most
approved style. Thus, while in Washington
and Baltimore, although in comparative retire-
ment, as he did not go out, Marpau was said to

' spend two or three hours daily, in the duties of
the toilet, painting his face, dressing his hair,
and arranging his appearance, by a small mirror,
held up before him by his wife, who^stood near him
for the purpose, pronouncing occasionally on the
eflfect produced, and giving instructions. Similar
attentions were conferred by the wife of the
Baven on her husband, but as he was of lower
rank, and rather older than Marpau, his toilet
was less elaborate, and occupied less time.

The next day after this ramble, the Potawo-

! tamies all went together to visit the places where
Marpau and his wife had walked the day before.

192 APPENDIX.

The other Indians, with the interpreter, examined
all the objects of interest in the neighborhood.
They had begun to be aware of the importance
of mechanical operations, and spoke with as
much approbation as an Indian ever speaks of
things which he admires, of the ingenuity ex-
hibited in the flour and paper mills. The next
day all the deputation left for their homes in the
west.

About a week subsequent to their departure,
a member of the Indian Committee on passing
by the hotel at Ellicott's Mills, saw the western
public stage arrive with a party of Indians and
their interpreter, and was much surprised to find
among them the Delaware Chief, the Beaver.
The Beaver, according to the statement of the,
interpreter, had left his party at Cumberland,
and had joined the present deputation in order
to present the grievances of his nation to the atten-
tion of the President of the United States. For
several years their annuities, both as regarding
goods and money, had been badly paid, and during
his recent visit to "Washington, William Wells
had uniformly objected to allude to the subject,
under various pretexts. The Beaver thought
there was something wrong somewhere, and was
determined to seek redress. The interpreter
asked advice of the Friend who met him at the
hotel, and was encouraged to make a faithful
statement of the wrongs done to the Delaware

APPENDIX. 193

tribe. An investigation was made in Washing-
ton by the President's orders.

William Wells was found to be a defaulter
to a large amount^ and was discharged from the
agency at Fort Wayne ; he shortly after went to
live in Canada, and in 1811, joined the party of
Tecumseh and the Prophet, in their warfare
against the United States, very contrary to the
desires of the Little Turtle, who with his allies
had remained deaf to all the arguments of Te-
cumseh, loyal to the government of the United
States, and faithful in his friendship to his
friends the Quakers.

William Wells after a short residence in
Canada, was taken prisoner by the Indians whom
he had defrauded in his agency, and was put to
death with great barbarity. The Little Turtle
had died a short time before, of an attack of the
gout in the chest.

The following matters of interest in the his-
tory of the Indians, together with the copy of
the Treaty of Greeneville, has been kindly fur-
nished from the records of Washington, by a
gentleman of that city.

" The treaty of Grenville* was concluded on
the 3d day of August, 1795, at the Head Quar-

*The treaty purports to have been made at
" Greeneville,'- but the place is frequently, perhaps
most generally, written " Grenville.
17*

194 APPENDIX.

ters of General Anthony Wayne, commanding
the army of the United States, northwest of the
Ohio, between that officer, acting; as Commission-
er for the United States, and the Sachems, Chiefs
and warriors of twelve tribes of Indians. The
treaty was mainly the result of a victory ob-
tained by General Wayne over the Indians in a
battle fought the previous year, near the Mau-
mee* river, and terminated the hostilities which
for nearly twenty years had been carried on be-
tween the Indians, northwest of the Ohio, and
the white settlers in Kentucky and western Vir-
ginia. Sundry abortive efforts had been made
by the government to procure peace. Partial
treaties were entered into, which had no
effect in restraining the great body of the tribes,
and several military expeditions, which had been
sent into their country to subdue them, met with
disasters, and by their failure only strengthened
the Indians. In April, 1793, three Commission-
ers, with ample powers, were sent to negotiate a
treaty, and were intrusted to offer much better
terms than were afterwards granted the Indians
by the treaty of Greeneville. In the instructions
given them it was stated, 'Hhat the Society of
Friends had, with the approbation of the President
of the United States, decided to send some of
their respectable members in order to contribute
their influence to induce the hostile Indians to

*At the time of the treaty called the Miami of the
Lake,

APPENDIX. 195

a peace," but I do not find from the Journal of
the Commissioners that any Friends attended.

The negotiation failed. The Indians insisted
upon the removal of the white settlements and
Forts from the country northwest of the Ohio,
which the Commissioners refused to accede to,
maintaining the claims of the United States to
certain portions of the country under treaties
from other tribes who were believed competent
to make title to it.

By the treaty of Greeneville the Indians ce-
ded to the United States a tract of country com-
prising about twenty five thousand square miles,
i or sixteen million acres, some of which however
was included in previous grants from other tribes.
They also ceded sixteen smaller tracts as sites
for Forts, trading stations, &c. They received
in consideration of the cession, twenty thousand
dollars in goods, and permanent annuities amount-
ing to eleven thousand dollars; $9,500 in goods
delivered, the cost of delivery and distribution
being $1,500. The annuities, at 5 percent, re-
presents a capital of $220,000; thus the entire
payment would be $240,000 for 3 6,000,000
acres of land, or one cent and a half per acre.

The annuities of several of the tribes com-
menced at once, and are still paid regularly
under the treaty of Grreeneville, and they re-
ceive additional annuities under other treaties.
Indeed all the tribes who were parties to the
treaty of Greeneville, received regular annuities

196 APPENDIX.

from the Government, but I have not been able
to trace in them the specific amounts granted by
that treaty.

Mem. of the terms of the Treaty.

Preamble : that the treaty is to end a de-
structive war, settle all controversies, and restore
harmony, &c.

Art. 1. Peace re-established.

Art. 2. Prisoners on both sides to be re-
stored.

Art. 3. Indians cede all lands east of a line
running from the mouth of the Cuyahoga, irreg-
ularly, to the Ohio opposite to the mouth of
the Kentucky river. And cede 16 specified
tracts. And free passage to the whites through
certain routes through their country.

Art. 4. The U. S. rehnquish all land west of
the boundary, except 150,000 acres granted Gene-
ral Clarke ; the post of Vincennes ; the French
settlement on the Illinois, &c. ; and Fort Massoe,
and give $20,000 in goods and annuities, amount-
ing to 19,500.

Art. 5. Indians to be protected in the occupa-
tion of their lands as reserved to them ; but to
sell only to the U. States.

Art. 6. Indians may expel settlers from their
lands.

Art. 7. Indians may hunt on lands ceded to
the U. S., [until settled.]

ArPENDlX. 197

Art. 8. Trade to be conducted by licensed
traders.

Art. 9. Neither party to retaliate injuries,
but offenders to be punished by their own gov-
ernment, and Indians are to give notice of hos-
tile designs.

Art. 10. All other treaties within the
of this treaty cancelled.

The following tribes were parties to the treaty
of Greeneville; the figures prefixed to the name
of each tribe shows the number of chiefs repre-
senting it, and proves that at the date of the
treaty, the Indians were a numerous people, viz:

10 Wyandots, 17 Delawares,
9 Shawanese, 7 Ottawas,

11 Chippewas, 2-1 Potowatamies,
5 Miamis, 3 Eel-river,

3 Weas, 3 Kickapoos,

3 Piankashaws, 3 Kaskaskias.

For the United States, Anthony Wayne was
sole Commissioner.

The witnesses were :

H. DeButts, Aid and Sec'y to Gen. Wayne;
W. H. Harrison, afterwards President of the

U. S., Aid to Gen. Wayne ;
J. Lewis, Aid to Geu. Wayne ;
James O'Hara, Quarter Master General;
i John Mills, Major, &c. ;
Caleb Soran, P. M. G. U. S. ;
George Demter, Lieutenant, &c. ;

198 APPENDIX.

Vigo, [an old French settler — a very remark-
able man];
P. La Fontaine,
Ant. Lasselle,
Jno. Beaubien,
David Jones, C. U. S. A.;
Lewis Beaufait,
R. Lachambor,
James Pepen,
Baties Contien,
P. Navarre;

Wm. Wells, Sonora, Interpreter;
Jacques Lasselle, do. ;
M. Morins, do. ;
Bt. Sansfrainte, do. ;
Christopher Miller, do. ;
Robert Wilson, do.,
Abraham Williams, do. ;
Isaac Zane, do.

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